


Cross your fingers; I hope this works

by NyakoChan



Category: Oxenfree
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Bad Cooking, Casual Sex, Closeted Character, Coming Out, Crushes, Dreams and Nightmares, Drunken Flirting, Friends With Benefits, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Jealousy, M/M, Making Out, Movie Night, Shovel Talk, Tie Kink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 00:37:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12096882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyakoChan/pseuds/NyakoChan
Summary: Drabbles. I just needed an outlet for my Jonas/Ren needs. Will add tags as they come up.





	1. Chapter 1

“So, how about it?” Ren leaned closer, eyes wide with curiosity. “You. Me. This Saturday?” He leaned over the hand railing, hovering above where Jonas was sat on the porch steps.

Jonas felt his cigarette droop at the seam of his lips, he blinked twice to make sure Ren wasn't an illusion. After the group’s shared night of being trapped on Edwards-Freaking-Island, it was not uncommon for the five of them to blink twice at each other to make sure they were really real. How long ago had they been there, again? 

Jonas snubbed his cigarette on the ground beside him, tilting his head back to look at Ren again, brow furrowing in the middle.

“Um, excuse me?” he asked, eyes darting left and right, making sure Alex wasn't about to pop out and surprise him. He was waiting for Ren to deliver the punchline.

Ren’s eyes brightened and his grin widened even more, showing all of his teeth including the one with the little chip in it from when Alex had allegedly pushed him off the swingset at the nearby park. If the blond was an illusion, he was a damn accurate illusion.

“Yeah! C’mon, it'll be fun! Just the two of us! We'll get some cheap fast food, I'll sneak some of Allie’s booze, and then we can go around the art museum and laugh at the tiny dicks on the naked dudes!”

Jonas felt the tips of his ears go warm and he opened his mouth to say something, only to choke on his own spit. Eloquent. Not that Ren was much better. Ren just waited patiently while Jonas coughed and cleared his throat, face burning hotter than the tips of his ears.

“Are you asking me what I think you're asking?” Jonas finally managed, turning in his spot and leaning his back against the railing. Craning his neck and straining his eyes trying to look up at Ren weren't doing him any favors. Jonas kept one leg propped on the step and the other stretching out on the ground. With his back against the railing he could better inspect Ren and hopefully spot Alex if she did a surprise attack.

“I think I'm asking what you think I'm asking,” Ren replied cheerfully, shrugging, “unless you don't want to go on a da-”

“Is this some kind of dumb joke my sister put you up to?” Jonas interjected, sitting straight up, tone snapping a little sharper than he would have liked. Playing it off as no big deal might be a little harder now.

Ren’s face screwed up and he back peddled a little. “Prank? No! I just thought that I-- that we--” 

“Then who? Who put you up to this?” Jonas shot to his feet, eyes still looking for the culprit. Ren stood just slightly above eye level from his spot on the porch. “Shit, Ren, who even told you--” his voice lowered to a hiss.

“Whoa, wait a sec! Jonas, dude, hold your horses and let me finish!” Ren kept a slight distance between them, hands flailing wildly as though he could clear the bad air around them. 

It was all he could manage in relaxing his shoulders and taking a few calming breaths. He gave Ren a stiff nod when he was ready.

“Okay, Jonas, so first of all, I don't exactly know what you're getting all worked up about right now but just so you know, nobody has told me anything. Like, related to this topic. Second, I was just trying to ask you out on a date but if you didn't want to we could just, I dunno, play some video games and pretend this never happened?”

Jonas resisted the urge to check for eavesdroppers again. “Um, I'm sorry for uh, freaking out on you. It's just, agh, yeah. I thought you were trying to make fun of me because you... somehow found out that I'm gay.” His last sentence came out quieter and quieter with every word. By the end of it Ren’s eyebrows were raised. 

“Make fun of you? What the hell? No way! But no one told me anything like that. I was just kind of asking because I think I like you? And if you didn't like me the same way or you weren't into dudes that would have been fine, too.” 

“But what about you and Nona?” Jonas asked, feeling relaxed enough to light another cigarette up. “Weren't you crazy about her back on Horror Island?” 

Ren’s mouth twisted wryly and Jonas had a feeling that he, much like Jonas had at the time, heard Whore Island. 

“I mean, yeah, she's a total sweetheart and she was fine to date for a bit, but we agreed we weren't serious enough to try and do long distance just yet. It was a mutual thing. But I mean, I know this seems like it's coming from the left field but I just feel like, I’unno, I kind of like you?”

“Err, okay? I guess I didn't know you were into both,” Jonas replied, “but I still don't get how you knew that I…” his throat always seemed to catch around the word, but he knew Ren knew what he meant. He took a drag from his cigarette to fill the silence.

“That you played for the other team? Eh, I didn't actually know. I just thought there wouldn't be any harm in asking and seeing if you were down for it. The heart wants what the heart wants. I don't really care if Nona is a cute girl or if you're a cute strapping young lad or whatever. I just kinda like you, that's all.”

Jonas let the information sink in, eyeing his sister’s best friend with only a tiny fraction of suspicion remaining. Ren was a terrible liar and he usually blinked a ton when he was trying to lie. He wasn't his usual squirrely self right now and maybe, just maybe, he was being sincere right now.

“So I uh, take it Alex and them don't know yet? About you. Liking guys.”

“Obviously not. Just never came up. And I'm not really comfortable with it either, so keep this quiet for now. I’ll tell her. Eventually.”

“Sure, sure, I mean, Alex definitely won't mind, but I get you, man. So… Saturday?”

The two stood in silence for a moment. Not that Jonas was opposed to a date. Or even a date with Ren. Heck, he hadn't even really gone on a real date before. What if it worked out? What if it didn't work out? Well, they would probably just go back to being kinda-friends with Alex as their mutual contact. 

“Uh, sure, Ren. Yeah, why not.” Jonas felt the tips of his ears reddening again and took another pull of nicotine. Ren had started dancing in place, laughing excitedly and punching the air. 

“Hell yeah! It'll be great probably! And if the museum thing gets too boring or they kick us out for laughing at tiny stone penises then we can just chill out and play games.” Ren smiled wide at Jonas again, eyes alight with joy. It was a little contagious and Jonas could feel a tiny smile pulling at the corners of his lips. 

“Reeeeeeen! Where are you? Did you trip and drown in the toilet again?” The two turned to the direction Alex’s voice was coming from. Jonas threw Ren a questioning look and Ren just smiled sheepishly. 

“I’d better go back, haha. It's almost like she thinks I can't take care of myself! Don't answer that. But yeah, no worries, dude. I won't tell her about you and I'll be seeing you Saturday?”

“Umm, yeah. Saturday. See you Saturday,” Jonas replied to Ren’s retreating back. He received a lazy wave that the blond didn't even bother to turn around and make sure Jonas saw. 

Jonas took his seat back on the porch steps once more, allowing himself to relax against the railing and stretching out his long legs best that he could. A date. He had a date!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren walks into something in the bathroom

“Has anyone seen Jonas?” Alex asked the group of them at lunch. “He's been missing lunch like, every other day this week.”

Nona was pouring over her homework, scribbling frantically and mouthing equations to herself. Clarissa was nose-deep in a book and didn't look up. 

Nona gave a noncommittal shrug and Clarissa continued to ignore them all, giving Alex half a shrug and a grunt of acknowledgment. Ren threw wild ideas at her and theories of where Jonas could be or what he could be doing. Starting a fist fight, smoking under the bleachers, and getting arrested were his go-to answers. Alex hushed him and told him that Jonas was better than that.

“Oh, okay, so you're suddenly the Jonas expert here, so where do you think your vagrant step-brother is?” Ren mock challenged, waving his spoon around and flinging bits of applesauce. Clarissa huffed when some of it got too close to her arm.

“Didn't he punch somebody, once?” Clarissa chimed in, only slightly interested in the topic.

“Well, I mean, I'm no expert on him yet but I do get to be more Jonas-expert on him than any of you do,” Alex retorted, “but that's not the point. I dunno, I don't wanna be nosy and pry, but I think him disappearing is kinda weird. After what happened at the Island, I wonder if I should be concerned?”

“Isn't it supposed to be like, the kind of thing where everyone becomes inseparable after sharing traumatic events together?” 

“Maybe he just needs some time alone, guys,” Nona added, glancing up from her paper, “you should just let him have his space.” 

“Drug trades! Boom. Got it. Case closed, everyone,” Ren exclaimed, flinging his spoon full of applesauce in excitement. A dribble of it splattered Clarissa’s page, causing her to shoot up in her seat, eyes narrowed dangerously. Alex could feel the heat of the deathrays the fiery red head was shooting from her eyes. Even Nona fidgeted a little.

“Reginald! I swear to fuck, you got applesauce on my book!” she snarled, hastily wiping at it with someone’s used napkin and promptly throwing it at the offender in question. Ren babbled his apologies as the napkin bounced off his head.

“Jesus, Ren, don't accuse him of drug deals! He's not a felon and that’s also a good way to get your front teeth knocked out,” Alex chastised, wagging a finger and tutting disapprovingly. 

“I always see him in my next class. Sometimes he’s a bit late but he always shows up so we know he isn’t like, ditching school,” said Clarissa, gazing forlornly at the wet spot on her book. “Maybe he found better people to hang out with. Good for him.” 

“Maybe he has a secret-somebody he’s meeting?” Nona inquired, glancing at the time on her phone. “Oh shoot! I gotta run, guys. I have to do a make-up exam in a few!” She threw her papers and pencil into her bag and clambered out of her seat. 

Ren and Alex called a “good luck! I believe in you!” at her back as she trotted off, squeezing past people in the lunchroom.

“So do you really think he has a secret-somebody?” Ren asked, cheeky grin set in its usual place. 

“I actually really don’t know,” Alex trailed off, curious. “Wanna go look for him?” Naturally she would never expect Clarissa to be on board. Even if they were doing better since the Island’s events, most days Clarissa was still a little (a lot) prickly around Alex.

“Where do we start? I just happen to know that if it’s drugs, we-- they usually happen under the staircases. Or the bathrooms. And sometimes the parking lot behind cars.”

“Um, sure, I’ll go check the staircases and the parking lot? You can check the bathrooms. Shoot me a text if you find him. Mission Start.” 

“Roger that! Time’s a’wasting!” Ren saluted Alex, getting up and heading for the nearest bathroom. Of course it would be too easy to find him on the first try, and he had another three floors’ worth of bathrooms to check. Lunch was just a little more than half over, which gave Ren plenty of time to check all of the bathrooms provided he didn’t get distracted by anything baked or shiny.

The first floor came up empty, save for the people actually doing their business in the bathrooms. Ren tried not to look too lost when he walked in, looked around, and turned to leave. He was halfway through the second floor’s bathrooms when he thought of the third floor bathroom that was in the corner of the Econ wing. It was a hassle to go to, the soap was never refilled, and strangely, there was always at least one toilet clogged with mountains of toilet paper. Ren had done a handful of cash-for-brownies deals in there.

Ren peeked at his phone when he turned the corner to enter the Econ wing. No message from Alex. He was already making stake-out plans and he would be Eagle Eye One and Alex could be Eagle Eye Two. Nona was going to be BaNonabread, whether she participated or not, and Clarissa would be--

At first glance there was no one to be seen in the bathroom. Ren’s train of thought came to a pause when he realized he was definitely not alone. 

The furthest stall, the one that never had any toilet paper ever, was definitely occupied, and if Ren stooped down a little he could definitely see two pairs of legs in that stall. In any other situation he would have started making a huge ruckus, singing and making it awkward for everyone in the room that they had chosen a school bathroom, of all places, to do the dirty. 

What stopped him was that he was almost sure he recognized one set of shoes to be Jonas’s. Ren held his breath and tried to listen. Had Jonas snuck a girl in here? 

There was a soft gasp which was quickly muffled, the sound of lips and stifled groans. Ren was hoping he might recognize who else might be in there but they were staying quiet enough that Ren was straining his ears. 

_“Aghhhhhnnn.”_ A soft moan and the sound of sloppy, open mouthed kisses followed. Ren was nearly completely positive that was Jonas. The voice was low and breathy. It was hard to say for sure. 

“Bell’s gonna ring,” another low voice mumbled, making Ren’s brain stutter and come to an abrupt halt. That was definitely Jonas’s voice, there was no doubt about it. He waited with bated breath to hear the response of his secret-somebody.

“Th-then hurry up,” a male voice responded, breath hitching and making Ren’s guts turn warm. Was Jonas in there with another guy? Ren would never have guessed! Ren started to back up when their breathing became a little louder, a little more careless. Soft sighs escaped them and Ren definitely did not know that Jonas could make these kinds of sounds. What were they doing in there, exactly?

Ren could imagine Jonas in there, beanie falling off, hair matted with sweat. His green jacket half removed, still clung to his forearms. His zipper would be down, maybe his pants and boxers pooling just below his hips. His shirt would be hiked up, maybe he’d clench the end of it between his teeth, leaving his stomach and chest exposed. Ren really wanted to know what they were doing in there. For science. Or maybe he didn’t need to know right now, because he was definitely half hard and he still had class to attend.

Someone gasped, the sound high and drawn out. Ren really needed to leave before the bell rang. He had one hand on the door handle, the other adjusting the front of his pants, when he felt his heart sink straight into his stomach as his phone began to vibrate. His ringtone sounded like a nuclear bomb going off in the bathroom. His hammering heartbeat was only second to the silence shattering chime. 

_“Oh shit, fuck, shit!”_ he heard someone hiss. He heard them scramble and the sound of fabric rustling. Ren remembered that he needed to move and he was out the door before he could hear anything else. The scare had been an insta-boner killer. 

Ren sprinted away from the bathroom, answering the phone only when he was down on the second floor.

“Uh, hello?” he called tentatively into the phone, still catching his breath, his mind replaying what he had heard in the bathroom.

“Ugh, no good, Ren. I couldn’t find him anywhere,” Alex’s voice came through the speaker. “Any luck on your end?” Ren’s brain took some warming up to respond. 

“O-oh, uh, no! Nope! Definitely not! No Jonas here!” he responded, perhaps a little too loudly and a little too panicky. Leave it to his best friend to pick up on it right away (but honestly anyone could probably guess his current state of mind.)

“You okay, Ren?” 

“Uh, mhmm! I just, uh, walked into something weird in the bathroom, that’s all. People are weird! But definitely no Jonas!”

Alex laughed at him over the phone. “Okay, sure. Let’s rendezvous before class and plan a stake-out. I’ve got some code names picked out.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Purple lilacs are symbolic of first love apparently

When Alex first introduced him to her childhood best friend, Ren, his initial impression was that he talked enough for all three of them, or maybe he just liked the sound of his own voice. Ren chattered and moved with an energy he hadn’t felt in a long time, his facial features more animated than a cartoon character, Jonas thought. Ren was funny most of the time, especially when he and Alex bounced off of each other’s sense of humor. He could see why they were such close friends. 

All in all, he was a cute kid with a decent sense of humor and expressive brown eyes. Sometimes Jonas needed a breather from all the energy he exuded but only when Ren was dragging them around to see things he thought were interesting or bizarre (“No, I swear! This grasshopper was like, trying to tell me something important!”)

It started as a simple tickle in the back of his throat that only sometimes bothered him when he was talking. He would clear his throat and continue on, thinking nothing of it until it began to occur more regularly. At that point he thought he was just coming down with a sore throat and he tried to cut back on smoking a little less, just until the cough passed over him. He only tried taking cough medicine after one particular night that he, Alex, and Ren had taken turns mopping the floor with each other at video games. Ren was almost as animated as the video game itself, leaning and moving his controller as though it would help him move faster. After 1 in the morning and a little booze in his system he was feeling like he had nearly screamed himself hoarse.

Jonas called it early that night despite Alex and Ren heckling him to be the first one to crash. Alex stopped after Jonas heard his voice crack and he quickly cleared it to pretend it hadn’t happened. He stripped down to his boxers and downed foul tasting cough syrup, crashing as soon as he hit the pillow. 

Although he felt a little less like he’d screamed himself hoarse, he could definitely feel the tickle in the back of his throat and a sort of pained weight in his chest. Definitely coming down with a cold, he decided, even when his brain reminded him of the way his mother had gotten sicker and sicker until--

No. He always had to stop that thought in its tracks because his brain always went into overdrive mode when he or his dad got even a little bit sick. The therapist he had seen all of three and a half times (he walked out on their last session a few months back) told him not to let his mind work itself up, lest his body begin to really believe that he was sick. 

He still made himself go to school because really, Alex, he wasn’t that sick. He also couldn’t really afford to miss a ton of class even though he zoned out in most of them. At lunch, when Alex, Ren, him, and Nona would sit together to eat, Jonas made sure to turn away and cough into the crook of his arm so as to not get them sick as well. 

“I really think you should like, see a doctor or something, Jonas,” Alex commented after Jonas’s coughing subsided. He was in the middle of downing one of four bottles of water that he carried around for when his throat started tickling and he didn’t want the teachers to throw him out of class for coughing constantly. 

Mouth full of water, Jonas shook his head and made a sound of disagreement. The water soothed his throat a little, just enough to pretend his throat wasn’t irritating him still.

“No, no, it’s fine. Just uh, just like, a cough probably. It’s really not that bad.”

“Dude,” Nona interjected, “you’ve been sick for how long? Like, weeks. You might as well see if it’s something else.”

“I think it’s getting worse, Jonas. How does it feel, now?”

Jonas cleared his throat to try and stop the sensation building up. “Um, I dunno. Kinda like a couple spiders are crawling down my throat?”

Ren made a sound of disgust and a face to match. “Maybe you’ve got uh, what is it called? Bronki- bronchititus?” 

“I think you mean bronchitis? And no, I’ve had that before. Back when Mom was sick. It was much worse than whatever this is.” He’d been stress-smoking so often back then that he had actually started coughing up flecks of blood. He eventually leveled out on how many packs of cigarettes he went through per week. He’d kept it hidden from his dad to worry him less, but back then, his dad was so stressed that he went from overly worried to irrationally protective.

“Have you tried drinking a bottle of honey?” Ren inquired, mouth full of sandwich. “Honey’s good for your throat, right?”

“Gross, Ren. Like, maybe a spoonful of it in tea, but not a whole bottle,” Nona chastised. “My grandfather had a bunch of old home-remedies for whenever I got sick. I’ll ask him about some of them and get back to you on it.”

“Sure. Thanks, Nona,” Jonas replied, trying not to laugh at the peanut butter trail on Ren’s cheek.

Even after Nona had texted him a couple of different methods her grandfather recommended, the pain in Jonas’s chest wasn’t going away. It even seemed to be getting heavier. He stifled his coughing around the others as best he could, but it was most certainly getting worse.

Ren had been texting him about a cute girl that sat in front of him in his history class but then promptly compared her to Nona when Jonas had to set the phone down to clutch his throat, chest wracked with pain as his coughing fit nearly doubled him over. 

At first, all he could think of was that Alex would almost definitely be able to hear him from her room and she’d probably come knocking in a few minutes. He train of thought violently derailed when he felt something working its way up his throat as he coughed and hacked. It wasn’t the same rubbery feeling as phlegm, but the texture made him gag and his eyes watered. 

Thinking it might be food or something, he shoved his fingers down his throat to try and pull it free. What he pulled from his mouth was the last thing he expected to see.

A tiny purple flowerpetal covered in saliva and dotted with blood sat on his palm. Jonas definitely didn’t remember eating any flowers, and he usually had an aversion to salad and other leafy foods that Alex would so generously serve him at dinner. As Jonas examined the strange petal in his hand he realized his throat had stopped convulsing but his chest still felt heavy. 

“Jonas? Are you okay in there? You aren’t dead, are you?” Alex’s voice came from behind his door. She thumped her fist and called out to him again. “I’m coming in if you don’t respond. Please don’t be dead!” The doorknob turned and she knocked again before entering.

Alex poked her head in, her blue hair that was usually tied up hung loose around her shoulders. She let out an exaggerated sigh of relief when she saw Jonas was still alive and staring at her like she was crazy.

“Oh, thank god! You’re alive! I thought like, Freddy Krueger mauled you or something!” she exclaimed with a laugh. “But seriously, I heard you down the hall. Are you okay?”

Jonas had the little petal clutched in his hand. He could show it to her, but he wasn’t really sure how it had even gotten in his throat to begin with so maybe it was better left alone for now.

“I’m fine,” he replied with the strongest, clearest voice he could manage. “Just choked on my own spit when Ren sent me a weird video, is all.” 

His step-sister narrowed her eyes a little but decided it was a decent answer. She wasn’t entirely convinced but the answer was satisfactory for the time being. Jonas was sure he wouldn’t be getting off so easy next time.

It was later when he tried to google “purple flowers” to figure out what exactly it might resemble that he managed to narrow the selection down to a couple different ideas and settled on the purple lilacs. 

He later decided to google what it meant to be coughing up flowers, only to become incredibly confused before his heart sank to his stomach.

Some weirdo disease involving love and flowers and other bullshit. Hanahaki or whatever nonsense. He was definitely not in love with anyone, he was sure. And ever since he’d moved here, the only people he really talked to were Alex, Nona, and Ren. With Alex being his sister she was excluded from the process of elimination. Nona was a cute girl, certainly, but Jonas never sparked much interest for her beyond friend because Ren had already declared his interest. And Ren? Sure, he was funny and he had a boisterous confidence that Jonas more often than not envied, and okay, he dressed himself pretty well (though Jonas was no expert on fashion sense), and maybe, just maybe he had begun to notice little freckles sprinkled across Ren’s nose and cheekbones--

Jonas already knew his answer when his stomach did a little flip at the thought of Ren bursting into laughter, invading his space to show him something dumb on the internet, horrifically losing rock, paper, scissors with Alex. 

“Ugh, dammit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be continued later


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonas discovers that being led by his tie is super hot

Jonas was still sat at one of the dinner tables even after everyone else had gotten up to dance. It wasn’t that he hated being there at the wedding reception, but rather, it was that he didn’t want to socially engage with anyone or make a fool of himself by dancing. Instead he preferred to look more like a lonely, socially awkward kid that didn’t want to even try and bob his head to the music. His dad was off dancing with his new wife and mingling with guests, leaving him alone for the most part. His had only seen his new step-sister in passing a few times throughout the day, but now she blended in with the dancing crowd. Jonas felt naked without his usual beanie to adorn his head. He couldn’t wait to get out of the suffocating button down and tie getup.His dress shoes were pinching his smallest toe. It was hard finding clothes that fit him after his growth-spurt a year ago.

Everyone was laughing, dancing, drinking together. The joining of two families was quite a momentous occasion. He felt out of place there in the reception hall, felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb. The hired DJ stood behind his computers, dancing by himself and changing songs as needed. Jonas kind of wished he were that guy; no affiliation to the families in question, wasn’t obligated to chat with anyone and tell them how his grades were in school. But he’d probably be too awkward for the job anyway. He wasn’t much for making himself heard.

Besides, being an observer wasn’t all bad because he got to watch wasted adults make fools of themselves on the dance floor. He watched them spin and dip each other, watched them dance against each other in a way that was rather creepy for how old they were. There weren’t a ton of others around his age present. Just his new step-sister and some of her friends. He hadn’t bothered to invite anyone.

Jonas caught a flash of blue hair from the corner of his eye. He scanned the dancing crowd, spotting Alex - or was it Alexa?- and a young man dancing and having what looked to be the time of his life with her. From a distance Jonas could see that the young man was about the same height as Alexis(?) with a mop of curly blond hair and tight skinny jeans. His eyes were closed from how hard he was laughing, head tilted upwards as though he were laughing at the sky. His smile could have reached ear to ear and there was something about his genuine happiness that drew Jonas in.

Jonas tried to look casual as he finally stood up and made his way near the dance floor, trying to look like he was searching for someone. He stood a bit away from the edge of it where the least amount of people were gathered, either collecting their breath or having a chat. It took only a few seconds to spot the young man again, and this time he could hear his laugh above the music. His voice was gentle though he spoke loudly, and his laugh was clear and contagious. Jonas eyed him up while he danced with no particular rhythm or style, just letting himself move to his own beat. He was cute, plain and simple. One of his new sibling’s friends, so probably off limits.

Jonas was just trailing his eyes back up the blond’s lithe figure when his gaze was snagged by eyes meeting his. He felt his face heat up and quickly turned away, scanning the crowd again like he was looking for someone else. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw the other kid talking to Alexis-whatever it was, feeling two sets of eyes settling on him.

He was just thinking of going to sit back down in his quiet corner when he heard someone clearing their throat. 

“Hey there! It’s nice to see some more young’uns here! We needed more people to show these old folks how to really dance,” the young man said, head tilted to look up at Jonas. His eyes were brown, Jonas noted. They were big and expressive and he had that same wide grin on his face. Dammit, he really was cute.

“Uh, no, that’s okay, I don’t really dance,” Jonas replied, feeling even more awkward now that he was talking to a cute guy. “I’m more of uh, an observer?” 

“Come on! It’ll be fun. I don’t know how to dance either!” the boy insisted, looking back to the dance floor where Alex was waving at them. 

“Ha, yeah, right. You looked like you knew what you were doing,” Jonas replied, quickly adding “from what I saw, I mean.” 

“No, no, I insist! Like, actually! Just like, feel the rhythm I guess? Who cares if it’s ‘real dancing’ or not,” he persisted, gently grabbing the length of Jonas’s tie and pulling him forward. 

Jonas was so stunned by the image of a guy as cute as this one, gently tugging him forwards by the tie and leading him onto the dance floor. 

_Holy shit, holy shit! Goddamn, why the fuck is this so hot?_

Jonas tried not to look like he was incredibly captivated by such a simple gesture, he hoped his eyes weren’t as wide as he was feeling flabbergasted. Had he just accidentally discovered a new kink?

“So, what’s your name again? I’m Ren, by the way.” He almost missed the question, his mind racing as fast as his accelerated heart rate. 

“Uh, Jonas. I’m Jonas,” he managed, the image of being seduced into bed with nothing but a gentle pull of his tie flashed through his head, causing a spike of arousal and interest to shoot through him. He groaned internally, feeling his face heat up when he looked to the hand carefully but firmly gripping the end of his tie. Up close, the kid was super attractive. His jeans hugged his ass, his eyebrows were a shade darker than the hair on his head (or maybe it was just the poor lighting) and his nose was a tiny bit crooked. He was gorgeous. Jonas prayed to anyone listening that his desperation wasn’t showing.

“Haha, that’s a cool name! Kinda like the AIDS guy right? No? Oh, yeah, polio, that’s what I meant. So come and dance with me and Alex over here!” With that he was stood in front of Ren and Alex, the new sibling. They hadn’t been properly acquainted yet, despite sitting near each other during the wedding ceremony itself. 

“Uhh, hey,” Jonas eloquently mumbled, trying to maintain eye contact and pretend he wasn’t nervous or attracted to the boy next to him. Alex looked a tiny bit sceptical of him being there but was keen to give it a try. 

“Hey, Jonas, right? Yeah, I’m the uh, the new sister and all, so uh, hi.” 

It was nice to know that he wasn’t the only awkward person here. Despite the events that caused their meeting, Jonas didn’t think he’d mind having Alex around. At least her first impression was a cool start. 

“Right. So how do you two know each other?” he asked, wanting to glean a bit of information about their relationship.

“Eh, childhood besties. I pushed him off the swing and he put glue in my hair in grade school. Fast friends.”

“Um, that’s cool. So you’re not like, dating or whatever?” he asked nonchalantly (he hoped) and laughed at the shared, wide eyed look between them as though the question had been utterly preposterous, and then exaggerated looks of disgust. They burst into laughter immediately after.

“Not at all,” Alex said, still laughing, “we’re more like, cousins with parents that aren’t close but the kids are? And we spent most of our childhood picking on each other and having dumb arguments over the color of the sky in art class, only to hypothetically start a watercolor war in the classroom. Y’know, those kind of cousins.”

“Oddly specific, but okay. Yeah, it’s just that you two seemed really close, I guess. But that’s cool,” Jonas trailed off awkwardly, not sure how to continue the flow of conversation. Ren saved the moment by literally grabbing Jonas’s attention again and trying to dance with him.

“We’re here to dance and look stupid! We can do the meet and greet thing later! What better way to bond than tripping on each other?” 

Ren, true to his own advice, seemed to just improvise with the music, regardless of whether it was older music from the ‘rents’ generation or something upcoming and new. Jonas felt only a little uncomfortable, feeling like he was about to make a colossal fool of himself and maybe break someone’s foot by stepping on it. Ren danced in a way that invited Jonas to respond, as though he was leaving his movements open for Jonas to step in and compliment them with something of his own. Jonas was still thinking about how Ren had pulled him by the tie and onto the dance floor and it made him want to answer his dance.

At first Jonas didn’t really try, laughing at himself and looking away in embarrassment. Ren confidently maintained eye contact (even though it was mostly one-sided) with him, making it seem as though the dance was meant to be a partner dance. Jonas decided that if Ren didn’t mind being silly and letting loose, then he probably wouldn’t laugh at Jonas for it either. 

Ren’s dance made Jonas feel like it was just the two of them, and he focused on the way Ren was moving, how his body was trying to tell a story and wanted to hear Jonas’s reply. Sometimes it seemed like Ren was almost dancing with himself, but then he would look at Jonas all sultry, completely into whatever imaginary role he had in his head. Jonas never took his eyes off of the way Ren moved, moving in turn with him, taking his hand when it was offered and even dipping him a little. At one point they had even danced back to back, only to turn around and meet each other’s eyes, gaze steady and heated. Jonas didn’t know what was going on exactly, but that seemed to be half the fun here. They weren’t even really hearing the music that was playing.

It kind of felt like flirting, the way they were dancing. Jonas didn’t want to read too much into it or anything, and he was kind of trying not to give too much away when his eyes lingered on the way Ren sashayed his hips. Jonas was tempted to make the dance more physical but felt it might not be appropriate for someone he just met. 

It was then that Ren had stepped in closer to him, tilting his head up, eyes half lidded, he grabbed onto Jonas’s tie once more.

Jonas felt himself groan and hoped it wasn’t too loud, hoped that the music drowned out the sound for him. But maybe it hadn’t because Ren was giving him a wry grin and that only fueled more ideas in his head. 

_Jesus, shit, this was so goddamn sexy,_ Jonas fought not to bite his lower lip. 

“Hot damn, I know, right?” Jonas was taken aback and wondered if Ren was a mind reader or if he was too obvious. “You said it aloud, actually,” Ren laughed, jerking Jonas forward and lower with another tug of the tie. 

“Whoa guys, get a room,” Alex remarked just loud enough for the two of them to hear and remind them that she was still there too. 

Jonas and Ren put some distance between each other, Jonas felt kind of like a deer in headlights but Ren was carrying on like normal. 

“What, so since he’s your new step-bro he’s like, off limits?” Jonas felt a tingle of excitement at the idea of having a chance. Sure, he had briefly considered the fact that, if it went south in a bad way, he could put a rift between Alex and her childhood friend. She had known Ren longer but she’d be stuck living with him in the same house. Jonas kind of felt bad when he thought of it that way, but all he could do for now was cross his fingers and hope it worked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This happened to me at my cousin's wedding and I had this exact same revelation


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren and Jonas start acting weird and Alex knows she's being kept out of a secret

It was the most ordinary Wednesday she could possibly imagine when she started noticing that Ren was acting a little more squirrely than usual. Which was saying something, because he was always a pretty squirrely kid that needed to stop self-medicating himself and start getting real meds for his ADD, if only so he’d stop taking Alex’s notes after class because he was too distracted to listen or accidentally breaking things when he fiddled with them too much. 

Ren sat closer to the door due to seating and name arrangement, or as he put it, the forces of the universe conspiring against them. Alex sat in the middle of the class and she had a pretty good view of Ren fidgeting more than usual in his chair, trying to stifle a laugh when he lost control of the pen he was twirling between his fingers and it hit the back of the guy’s head that sat in front of him. Weird, because he was usually more in control of being distracted in class. The last time he had hit someone with his spinning pen trick had been during their SAT test and Ren was too busy freaking out over the things he didn’t know. 

So it was hard to spot at first because she thought Ren was just having a weird week or something, but then she noticed Jonas being weird around the house that same Wednesday. Jonas wasn’t exactly a reclusive guy when they were at home, but he seemed to be out and about a little more than usual. Alex had initially dismissed it as him wanting to get out of his stuffy room and walk around a bit. And those times that he went out just so happened to be late at night and sometimes at weird hours of the afternoon. Alex certainly knew when she was being kept out of a secret, and the fact that it was between her best friend and her step-brother made her all the more curious. 

She waited until Thursday afternoon for Ren to willingly spill the beans, because he was in fact, the worst secret keeper to ever keep secrets, and should never be trusted with confidential information. Alex learned this very early on in their childhood and Ren, despite his best efforts and his acquired fear of eating dirt (Alex had only pinned him like, twice, and made him eat dirt), that boy just could not keep his mouth shut.

On Thursday after school Ren was still just as distracted and antsy as Wednesday, like when it was Taco Tuesday at the cafeteria and Ren wanted to make sure he stole as much sour cream as he could manage. Alex tried inviting Ren over to her place after school so she could try and get the details from him, but Ren had declined and said he had band plans. Even after she pestered him a bit more, Ren still gave no indication of spilling his secret.

When she got home she tried to corner Jonas and see what his deal was, but he was just on his way out as she went to find him. In fact she saw the back of his coat through the crack in the door as he closed it behind him. As for when he’d be back, hell if she knew. She didn’t even bother trying to wait up and corner him because he came back fifteen minutes to midnight and she was too tired to care.

Friday, however, was when she struck. She met Ren at his locker that smelled very, very faintly of weed brownies (if you were looking for it) and casually invited Ren to come over with junk food and come watch her dad’s old collection of cheesy horror movies that he’d left behind. She was afraid Ren would decline but not even he could resist the promise of a good Friday night and the chance to get high while they watched hilariously lame scary movies. Ren seemed to enjoy combining fear and pot - said it balanced him out in a good way.

She later sent Jonas a brief text asking if he wanted to watch dumb films tonight. He took a while to get back to her, which was weird because he was always on his phone, and he gave a very average response that could either mean he was okay with the idea, or at least didn’t hate the idea.

Ren showed up twenty minutes after he said he would and then blamed it on his pre-gaming with his new batch of brownies, and he’d just gotten a little distracted and it took him a few extra minutes to drag himself out of the house. Jonas had gone out for a quick smoke in the time that Ren had shown up. Alex told him that she’d be in the den setting everything up.

“So uh, no brother today?” he asked her, laying out his assortment of snacks he’d brought from home. He looked around very briefly, very casually, and then proceeded to organize the snacks by color of bag. Alex was never really sure what kind of ordering system he was going for, but when he was high he was very adamant that the order stayed the same way no matter what.

“Did you need something from him?” Alex asked innocently, trying to bait the answer out of Ren. Usually he only asked for Jonas when they were arguing over something dumb or if he wanted to show him something dumb. She was busy setting up her laptop to the TV so they could avoid using the DVD player that she was pretty sure was haunted by her late grandfather.

“Uh, whoa, what’s Ren doing here?” Jonas asked, stopping at the doorway to the den, now illuminated by the TV. Jonas looked between the two suspiciously. “You didn’t say that he’d be here.”

“Is that a problem? You guys aren’t fighting again, right? So what’s the big deal?”

“Nothing, there’s no problem, it’s fine,” Jonas grumbled, entering and sitting on Alex’s right. 

“Uh-huh, okay. So I noticed that you two have been acting a little out of sorts this week and I wondered if you were okay? Or maybe on the off chance that it had to do with each other? So uh, what’s going on between you two?” If it actually was some kind of fight or disagreement, there was nothing like snacks and overly dramatic screaming that could lighten a mood. She laid the bait out, now she just waited for Ren to bite.

“We’re dating,” Ren blurted out not long after, causing Jonas to go wide eyed and look at him in a very accusatory manner. The fact that he didn’t immediately jump to deny it or protest was telling. Alex believes he may have been in shock and was just learning exactly how bad Ren was at keeping secrets.

“Ren, Jesus,” he groaned, looking at Ren like he was an estranged alien that had come to the wrong planet. “You- You don’t just blurt that kind of thing out.” In the glow of the television’s light, Jonas had turned a little red. 

“What’s this? Dating?” Alex persisted, looking to Ren who was looking sheepishly at Jonas. Jonas snapped his attention to her, the tips of his ears were a shade darker now.

“Well, I mean, ah,” he put his hand at the back of his neck, rubbing his hairline self-consciously. “Kind of? It’s a new thing. Like, brand new, and uh, yeah,” he trailed off awkwardly, averting his gaze. 

“Haha, yeah, like, this-week-new,” Ren chimed in. “I’d even call this the first official date, really.”

“Oh yeah? And when were you going to tell me?” Alex asked curiously, interested in how such an odd relationship could blossom between the two. Sometimes they bickered like siblings and Alex had to wonder if all this time it was just their weird way of flirting.

“Soon, I swear! Really, I was going to say something about it but like, we’re still kind of figuring this out, too,” Ren replied, holding out a bag of Doritos for Alex and Jonas. Jonas didn’t take any, looking less uncomfortable now but still slightly avoiding Alex’s questioning look. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty new. Actually, I was kind of thinking, like, maybe see if it worked out first and we didn’t kill each other within a week?” her step-brother added quietly, much to her surprise.

“Ahh, I thought you two had been kind of weird this week! Well,” Alex clapped her hands together as though concluding something, “congrats to the new couple!” Jonas gave her a half-nervous laugh and Ren was all for cheering with her. 

“Thanks!” the blond grinned widely, “and to celebrate, I say we watch these movies!”

“Ah, wait,” Alex stopped him from hitting play. “Before that, I just need to say like, two really quick things that applies to both of you.” The boys looked at her expectantly. Truth be told, she had just now thought of this after realizing that, if it went south, it would be super awkward for Ren to come over in the future. 

“Um, so like, Ren, Jonas is my brother and if you break his heart I’ll have to push you off another tire swing or something. If Jonas ever comes home mad at you for doing something stupid, I’ll find you. Jonas, Ren is my best friend and he’s dumb but he means well. Usually. If you break his heart I’ll have to, uh, break your face? I’ll do something. Ren hasn’t cried since his Internet girlfriend dumped him and that week sucked,” Alex continued, rolling her eyes as Jonas raised his brow with an expression of confusion. “But yeah, I’m also super happy for you guys, or at least very confused and morbidly curious to see how this works out. Like wanting to see if the train collides with another one but you still hope that they don’t crash. There. Shovel talk and a pep talk done. Movies?”

“She pushed you off a tire swing?” Jonas asked after a moment of letting Alex’s awkward speech set in. 

“Yeah, but it was better than when she pushed me backwards down the big spiral slide in elementary school,” Ren sighed, “because at least I had it coming. Alex just has like, a mean streak or something.”

“Hey, no,” Alex interjected defensively, “I don’t push people down slides and off of swings for no reason. You threw a dodgeball at my head that day.”

“I disagree-”

“Okay, good for you. Movie time!” Alex cut him off, hitting play and turning up the volume so they could laugh at the overdramatic music that took itself too seriously, and the exaggerated shrieking of the oblivious love interests. Ren didn’t try further the disagreement, but he did make an obnoxious shushing sound at Jonas for opening a bag of chips. 

“Oh man, could you imagine if like, we were like, in one of these scary situations?” Ren asked, stretching his legs out and leaning back on his hands placed behind him. “I’d be there to rescue my damsel in distress, and there would be ghosts and werewolves chasing us all night, and it would end with like, most of us making a get-away, driving off into the sunset and reminiscing about what a horrible time we had.” 

“Somehow I don’t think it would go that smoothly,” Alex remarked jokingly, pretending not to notice when Jonas imitated Ren’s posture, hands going behind him to support his weight and probably reach out for Ren’s hand behind her back. “You’re more like the damsel in distress, Ren. It would definitely be me and Jonas that would save your ass from werewolves." 

Ren threw a small handful of chips at Alex and Jonas. Alex was going to make him vacuum when they were done here. 

“While I don’t completely deny the second part, that first part is inaccurate. But I guess it wouldn’t be too horrible being your brother’s damsel in distress.” Jonas threw the scattered chips right back at Ren. They were both going to be cleaning the carpet up after this.

“Okay, okay, enough,” Alex tried to settle the boys down from their tiny food fight. “Let’s just agree that it would definitely be me saving all your asses out there from the werewolves, okay?” Jonas agreed easily enough and Ren accused her of being the first one to feed him to the werewolves but conceded in the end.

The three of them sat gathered around the TV screen for the rest of the evening, taking turns deciding what they would watch next. Ren liked deciding at random and Jonas didn’t actually know any of the titles so he usually just picked whatever had the dumbest name. Eventually, between the bathroom breaks and getting up to stretch, it was no surprise that Jonas and Ren ended up sitting next to each other. Alex told them not to start making out and they both denied they would do such a thing.

“Save it for the Revival Theatre,” she told them over their embarrassed protesting. “Row G, by the way. You’re welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be cute for Alex to give them the Shovel talk and then realized I dunno who she'd even root for


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren pats himself on the back for being an awesome kissing teacher for his boyfriend. Jonas contemplates what exactly is so addicting about kissing Ren.

Out of all the boys Jonas had ever kissed in his life (a grand total of two -or was it three now?) Ren was the most interesting kisser he’d had the pleasure of experiencing. Albeit, his first kiss had been a nerve-wracking peck on the lips with a boy in middle school that hadn’t stuck around for Jonas to try it a second time on him. The second kiss was sloppy and forgettable at a party in his sophomore year of high school and the other boy was mostly drunk. Still, Ren’s kisses blew those other two experiences out of the water and into the sky. 

The way Ren kissed, he was never afraid of who might be watching even when Jonas was. Ren wasn’t even the slightest bit shy of taking kisses where he could get them, whether it was catching Jonas unawares or fighting him for a peck on the cheek. Ren was very open about his affection and Jonas really did enjoy that side of him. Now if only he could convince himself to return the openness to Ren. Jonas really didn’t mind Ren’s eagerness to kiss him wherever and whenever, but there really was a time and a place for everything. 

Ren usually started Jonas’s day with a good morning kiss in front of the lockers at school, and sometimes if they ran into each other in the halls with enough time to spare between bells. They were usually quick ones on the cheek and Ren always laughed when Jonas felt his face heat up, but Jonas never failed to return Ren’s breathless hello. Jonas would always insist that kissing was too much effort and that he preferred something quiet and easy like holding hands or just having enough contact to be comfortable and aware of the other’s presence. Ren pouted and demanded more anyway, and Jonas didn’t usually complain too much except for when his lips were too chapped and it hurt to open the poorly healed cuts left from picking at the dead skin.

Jonas wasn’t embarrassed by his relationship with Ren because Alex had been totally for them from the get-go and his dad awkwardly accepted the fact that he was gay. They didn’t talk about it much but sometimes his dad would ask how “that Ron fellow” was doing. Sometimes he felt a little bad that he wasn’t kosher with the same amount of reasonable PDA as Ren but he was always sure to make it up to him when they were away from curious gazes.

The only time Jonas wasn’t a huge fan of Ren’s silly kisses were when he was high as a kite and tasted like chocolate and weed. Though Jonas smoked, he just wasn’t a fan of the scent or the taste of pot. It was too bitter for him when he tasted it on Ren’s lips, not to mention the smell of it cooked inside of confectioneries made him think of something burnt. He’d rather just eat a normal brownie rather than taste sweet chocolate tainted by something so acrid. Too bad for him that Ren was even more affectionate when he was buzzed, and even more persistent at getting those kisses. Jonas usually allowed him small kisses on the cheek but politely declined anything more until Ren brushed his teeth. 

Otherwise, Jonas had come to anticipate a couple dozen kisses from his boyfriend every day. They were something nice to look forward to after a hard class or a bad test and he never had to ask twice if he wanted one. Additionally, the pleased look on Ren’s face when Jonas was the one to initiate a kiss was totally worth the occasional embarrassment or affectionate teasing from Alex.

When it was just the two of them, Jonas liked to take his time and run his tongue on the underside of Ren’s top teeth, along the roof of his mouth and the seam of his lips, his mouth pressed hotly against the other’s and his hands cupping Ren’s face. His thumb would stroke the soft skin of his boyfriend’s cheeks and his outstretched fingers would gently fiddle with the gauges in Ren’s ears. Fingers would curl up and twist in the soft blond curls atop Ren’s head, and sometimes he was playfully chastised when he pulled too hard. Jonas would turn Ren’s head whatever angle suited them best, sometimes exposing the sides of his neck and mouthing along where his jugular would be.

Jonas would exhale warm air through his nose and inhale the oxygen shared between their mouths. He didn’t like to pull away if he didn’t need to, making sure his tongue ran over every inch of Ren’s mouth, inside and out. He would catch his lips between his teeth and pull at the lower one, leading Ren’s face closer, shifting their bodies so Ren would lean into his embrace. Ren would straddle his legs and hover over Jonas so he had more leverage, sometimes he would take control of their kissing and Jonas would readily relinquish control. When Jonas led their makeout sessions, it was all open mouthed kisses with hardly any space between them. Jonas was able to smother any sounds that left their mouths when he pressed theirs together, and although he very much enjoyed the lovely little noises Ren often made, he wanted those noises all to himself and preferred to keep them both quiet (and Alex and his dad unaware).

Kissing Ren gave him a warmth that filled his body and made him relax. He felt it was best compared to soaking in a tub of hot water after a long day, and Ren left him feeling refreshed after a good makeout session. Jonas loved the dazed and dreamy expression he left on the small blond because to him it meant a job well done. It was sometimes difficult to satiate Ren’s need to be kissing all of the time, but Jonas made sure he gave him his money’s worth, so to speak. His absolute favorite thing aside from kiss-bruised lips and a line of spit shared between their panting mouths were the marks Jonas liked to leave around Ren’s prominent collarbones and sternum. Ren never protested much when he was leaving them and then pretended he didn’t like them after, but Jonas knew he liked the markings all the same.

\------------------------

Ren’s favorite thing to do in relationships was kissing, hands down. He felt so connected through kissing, and the passion and heat built between two sets of lips never failed to send electricity through his body. Ren had kissed lots of different kinds of people. Sometimes at parties when he wasn’t in a relationship, and always demanding more and more from the people he dated. If he were honest he could probably live off of them alone if food and water weren’t also a bodily necessity. There wasn’t anything that especially brought on his hunger for kisses, it was just as natural as wanting water when they got thirsty, and for him it was definitely like quenching a deep thirst that was always below the surface, only satiated for a few hours at a time. He liked to call himself a connoisseur and master instructor of the art of kisses.

Right now he liked to think of Jonas as his student and it was his duty to teach him the proper ways of kissing. They had come a long way since Ren began teaching him, and though Jonas had started off a fumbling, awkward novice, Ren simply couldn’t leave a fellow gentleman without the proper kissing techniques. Okay, and Jonas had a really nice face and he was really hot when he got into it and took the lead, and when his voice got raspy between panting and groaning Ren was pretty sure his heart stopped. If only he could get Jonas as open and willing about it as he was, but that was a lesson in progress. 

Jonas often had chapped lips and a bad habit of chewing on his lower lip when he wasn’t smoking. Before they started dating Ren had never noticed as much about his boyfriend’s lips or mouth when he didn’t have a cigarette hanging loosely between dry and cracked lips. Then one day after seeing Jonas’s lips split open and bleed slightly after a long yawn that stretched his lips wide, Ren made a comment that Jonas ought to use chapstick or no one would ever kiss him. Jonas had looked indifferent to the comment but had the faintest hint of pink in his cheeks. It was then that, aside from the tiny beads of blood dotting the cuts in his lips, Ren noticed how delicately shaped the other boy’s mouth was, and the way his pink tongue darted out to swipe at the blood on his lips. Ren had his target from that day forward. He didn’t much like the taste of Jonas after he had smoked, and sometimes he couldn’t resist even when the smell of cigarettes still clung to Jonas’s coat and hair. That was fair game though because Jonas didn’t like his magic brownie-breath. 

Getting Jonas to date him didn’t prove too difficult. Turns out he already had the hots for him, but from there it was slow going. Jonas didn’t have much experience in dating, if any, but that just made it more pleasing for Ren to be his first instructor in dating and kissing. Ren took quite a lot of pride in the fact that he was able to be the first one to help Jonas explore the different realms of dating and romance. And Ren wasn’t just in this for the “teaching” because dating Jonas was actually pretty cool and even if their personalities were nearly complete opposites, Ren had always believed that different puzzle pieces fit together better than matching puzzle pieces. He supposed that he had already felt an attraction towards his best friend’s step brother, but after he had come to realize he liked Jonas for more than just the thrill of kissing him he knew he was sunk. He wasn’t too broken up about that part at all.

When they kissed, Ren felt like he was being absorbed into his boyfriend’s warm hold. The way his face was cupped made him feel safe, and like no one could even peek into their private little world (that Ren didn’t make an effort to keep private) made him feel special. Safe from what, he wasn’t sure because it turns out werewolves weren’t real, but it was a damn good feeling and it made his heart feel full. 

Another thing about his boyfriend that Ren adored was that there always seemed to be this amazing and addicting scent around him at all times. It was a mix of cigarette smoke (somehow totally different from the smell that Allie came home from the bar with) and an alluring body wash that lingered on his skin, and combined it gave him a smell similar to smoky sandalwood and he would inhale that scent deeply when he laid in his arms. He smelled like a boy that he would kiss amongst the fallen autumn leaves on a brisk afternoon. Don’t ask him how he got that mental image description, because it was just something in the way that Jonas looked, what with his high cheekbones and bright eyes and the way his cheeks and ears colored a bright pink in the cold. Shame that Jonas didn’t much like kissing in the cold because it made his chapped lips worse, so he and Ren compromised and Ren could only kiss him on the cheek if they were outside. 

Jonas surprised him once when they were at Alex’s place drinking a little. It was like he threw caution to the wind and right then and there with Alex watching, had pulled Ren into a kiss that started with licking at the corners of his mouth. Ren, well on the way to being higher than a kite, had delved right into it, ignoring the way Alex laughed and catcalled at them. Jonas was bold as hell and a damn good kisser when he had a little alcohol in him. Turns out Jonas could be full of surprises when he wanted to be, and Ren was keen to see how else he would progress in the near future. Yeah, Ren was a crazy good instructor in his very humble opinion, but Jonas deserved some credit for being an excellent, enthusiastic, passionate student.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was supposed to be like, the different things they liked about kissing each other but ended up more like Jonas as a love-struck boyfriend and Ren telling himself he's a teacher and a kissing connoisseur


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast goes horribly wrong. Alex and Ren should not be allowed to cook together.

Jonas woke up late Sunday morning to the smell of something strange. Even though Jonas usually got up early on Sundays for work and wasn't present for everyone else waking up, he was pretty sure this wasn’t a normal thing to occur in their household. Such a unique scent had been enough to pull him away from his very rare, almost once-in-a-lifetime Sunday-sleep in, and he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to investigate it. He laid in bed, breathing shallowly as he debated on whether the smell was good or bad but all he decided was that it was just plain odd. 

With the smell slowly becoming more prominent in spite of his bedroom door being shut tight, Jonas realized he had to get to the bottom of this before the smell completely saturated into the walls and carpet of the entire house.

Reluctantly, he pushed his covers back and sat up in bed, letting his head hang in weariness for a moment. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and pulled on a shirt that had been discarded on the floor sometime this week. He couldn’t be sure if it was on frontwards or backwards but he couldn’t bring himself to care much. His plaid pajama pants had a few holes in them but they still did their job and there was definitely no reason to throw them out or fix them. 

Whatever Alex was doing in the kitchen right now was going to have to be put to an abrupt end. Preferably by way of the trashcan outside. 

As soon as he opened his bedroom door he grimaced, nose wrinkling at the smell of something that was both rotten and burnt and spicy all at the same time. He quickly shut his door behind him, if only to save his bedcovers from absorbing any more of the foul stench.

“Alex, what the hell is that?” he called, making his way downstairs. The closer he got the worse it stank, and he quickly realized there was too much noise for just Alex to be alone in the kitchen. He should have guessed that Ren was over because not even Alex had ever screwed up a meal this badly.

He could hear them bickering over the clatter of pots and pans from the hallway. Jonas hesitated to go in for fear of the smell of whatever had died in there overwhelming him, but someone had to put a stop to this and he was pretty sure no one else was home besides the three of them, so unfortunately it fell to him.

“Hey, hey! Alex, hello?” he raised his voice, entering the battlefield and finding himself face to face with Alex cracking eggs over a large metal bowl and Ren digging through the cupboards of pans for… something.

Alex looked up mid-crack of the egg in her left hand. She smiled sheepishly at Jonas and hollered for Ren to stop making such a racket. Something in the oven was definitely burning.

“Uh, sorry, we didn’t think we were being that loud,” she apologized, looking genuinely sorry. Ren peered into the bowl with egg yolks and reached in to pull out a piece of eggshell. 

“Lookin’ good, sleepyhead,” Ren commented, tossing the eggshell over his shoulder and somewhere vaguely near the sink. “Love the bedhead. It’s cute. And your shirt is on backwards.”

“You weren’t. That loud, I mean. I woke up to, uh, whatever that smell is? Seriously, don’t you guys smell that? It’s horrible,” Jonas asked, gesturing to the bowl of something. He allowed for Ren to approach him and kiss him in greeting. He returned it awkwardly because it was still kind of weird to him that he was dating his sister’s childhood friend.

“Oh, I think I started to like, ignore the smell,” Alex replied, turning around to open a window. “Uh, but I know it smells weird. I just didn’t know it would reach you all the way up in the attic. Sorry about that.”

Now that he was here and more awake he was less annoyed by being woken up on his day off. He was, however, still very much on a mission to destroy whatever was causing the house to stink.

“Yeah, okay, so what is all this?” 

“We’re making you breakfast!” Ren chimed in, looking quite proud of himself. 

“Breakfast that smells, um, spicy?” Jonas asked, looking concerned at the two “master chefs.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we used brown sugar. It was brown and it looked like powder. Figured it was either brown sugar or cinnamon.”

“Kinda smells like the ground cumin my dad never got around to using…”

“Yeah, it might be.” Ren shrugged casually.

“I don’t understand why you still decided to cook it once it started smelling like this,” Jonas tried to peek through the dark window on the oven door. He was absolutely positive if he opened it the smell would definitely kill him. A faint hint of smoke trailed out between the cracks of the door. 

“Honestly, it’s kinda just morbid curiosity at this point. We were working on a redemption batch when you walked in,” Alex admitted, whisking the egg yolks in the bowl and only spilling a little bit of it. “We were making you breakfast because you’re always so busy with work.”

Jonas still didn’t know what exactly they had killed in that oven, but now he was sure the only solution here was to move out and never come back because that smell was going to linger forever no matter how many windows and doors they opened. Regardless, he did appreciate the gesture from the two of them.

Even if it was a nice gesture, he knew for a fact that neither were particularly skilled at cooking in general. Alex could burn cereal on a good day and Ren couldn’t be trusted to prepare food with more than two ingredients. 

“Wait, what exactly were you trying to make?”

“At this point I can’t really remember. I think we were thinking of making pancakes but then it sort of evolved into french toast.”

Jonas was no culinary genius but he didn’t think french toast was made in the oven. Or pancakes for that matter. He moved to open another window because the noxious fumes were likely going to set off the smoke detector or kill them all from inhaling too much. Whichever came first.

“I’ll… just have cereal or something, thanks. Maybe next time don’t um, actually try and make anything. You can just leave a clean bowl and the box of cereal out for me.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence. You set the microwave on fire one time and suddenly you can’t be trusted in the kitchen for the rest of your life,” Ren groaned theatrically, hands thrown up in the air in feigned exasperation, “how was I supposed to know you don’t put cooking pots in the microwave?”

“Might be because they belong on the stove?” 

The timer on the oven chimed, though Jonas felt like it probably should have gone off hours ago considering how burnt the food looked. He braced himself for Ren and Alex carefully opening the oven door and the puff of smog that followed it. The two of them grabbed any nearby cloth to protect their fingers while they pulled the wax paper off the top rack. Maybe it was better that they hadn't used an actual pan because it would likely have been unusable after this.

“And I learned a thing that day, mistakes happen. Now, who’s ready to try out one of these bad boys?”

Jonas blanched and felt nausea turn in his stomach. “I’m suddenly not hungry for breakfast for like, the next week,” he muttered, looking at the charcoal sticks laid out on wax paper. They were roughly the size and shape of a bar of chocolate, and about as thick as an empty leather wallet. Jonas was pretty sure they could single handedly cause cancer.

“I say YOLO. And if this is what kills me, well, so be it.” And with that Ren took an unnecessarily large bite out of the failed french toast. The sound of breaking off a piece reminded Jonas of snapping a pencil clean in half. Some ashy dust floated off from the breakline. 

“That’s… yeah that’s kinda gross,” Alex grimaced, seemingly transfixed to the sight of Ren consuming literal garbage. “If he doesn’t puke after this, then I just might.”

“I know.” Jonas had his hands cupped over his nose to help block out the smell of burnt cumin bricks. He most certainly would not be the one to clean up any vomit if things went south.

“You kiss that mouth, you know,” Alex reminded him sagely, looking alarmed at the sight of Ren going for a second huge bite.

“I know,” Jonas replied, sighing in resignation, feeling equally horrified and impressed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren is a young man of very high standards. Jonas is new in town and attends the yearly bash on the beach.

As the new kid in town coming in to his senior year of high school, Jonas was neither surprised nor sure how anyone in his year managed to contact him and invite him to some party on one of the nearby islands. The school year hadn’t even started yet so he was beginning to become seriously concerned how anyone knew he was in town or how to get in touch with him. Concern of a possible stalker aside, Jonas was not opposed to a place with zero adults, free alcohol, and a night away from his dad. They’d only left Westedge a week ago and his dad was still trying to get him to finish unpacking his things. 

And besides, even if he wasn’t sticking around town for very long after he graduated, he may as well get to know some of the locals and find some friends to hang out with.

On the last Friday before school started Jonas showed up to catch the last ferry to Edwards Island only an hour and a half after the party had officially started. He wasn’t sure what qualified as “fashionably late” but he was pretty sure this wasn’t it. He worried it would be awkward and all eyes would be on him as he joined the party dead last, but after he navigated his way to the beach (he followed the music) it turned out the teenagers in Camena High weren’t that different from the ones in Westedge. Everyone could be seen with either a red solo cup in hand or completely hammered and dancing their face off by the bonfire.

He wasn’t much of a socialite but he entered the fray as if he was partially acquainted with at least three people. Locating drinks wasn’t a problem. There was a trail of litter and discarded plastic cups that brought him right to the coolers filled with mostly melted ice. A few people said hello to him while he shimmied his way around drunk, flailing bodies. Other than that he was pleased to see that he was mostly ignored. 

For the next half hour or so he cradled a beer in his hands, usually taking a drink from it whenever it looked like someone might try to approach him and start a conversation. They couldn’t do that if he looked like he was busy and they were all too drunk to notice his drink should have been empty long, long ago IF he was actually drinking anything for as long as the can was tipped back. All in all, it was pretty uneventful and he was only a little buzzed before the hour was up.

At least until he heard a poorly performed wolf-whistle behind his back, though it was impressive that he heard it over the clamorous chatter of people and the pounding music. He ignored it because he was sure it was directed at some girl but then he felt a gentle tap on his back.

Jonas’s heart only sunk a little bit at the idea of conversing with someone before he steeled himself and turned around. A boy almost a foot shorter than him was not what he expected.

“What’s cookin’ good lookin’?” was the first thing to come out of his mouth. Jonas, eyes wide, looked around and checked behind him to make sure he was actually the one being addressed. 

“Uh, hello?” he returned uncertainly, facing the blond kid that was clearly not sober. The first button on his polo was unbuttoned and Jonas couldn’t help peek at the dip between his collarbones at the base of his throat.

“Did you fall from- from the sky or is it just me? Wait, no, haha. Did you, um, no wait.” He focused on Jonas intently and Jonas could feel his cheeks getting a little warm. “You’re hot,” was what the blond finished with.

“Wh-what? I, um, I don’t even know you, man,” Jonas retorted, looking around again to make sure it wasn’t some new hazing trick and they were baiting him with a cute, definitely-not-even-close-to-sober kid.

“Oh! I am Sir Reginald Scott Edwards. Edwards like the island we’re on right now. No relation,” he laughed, stepping closer to Jonas to be heard. “I wanna major in music when I go to college, and I’m in a band. I’m the bass player.” He gave Jonas a lazy wink like he was being let in on a secret. It was kind of cute if the kid wasn’t so piss drunk.

“Err, that’s cool... I guess,” Jonas replied, subtly putting some distance between them. His efforts were ruined when the other boy closed the gap and grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding a beer. Jonas was tugged forward and was informed that Reginald knew some place quiet that they could talk. Jonas wanted to argue and say that he didn’t want to go, but with as drunk as the kid was, he also didn’t want to see him disappear and get himself hurt. And okay, he was kind of cute in an annoying puppy kind of way.

Reginald was pulling him away from the crowd of people and away from the loud music towards a set of metal stairs leading up the cliff. The blond boy only managed to climb a few steps before they both turned to the sound of someone calling out, “Reeeeeeen.”

Behind them a girl with blue hair and an oversized jacket was fast approaching. She looked much more coherent than the boy holding his hand (that had still not let go of him) and she looked from Jonas to Reginald suspiciously.

“Where do you think you’re going with my friend?” she demanded warily, crossing her arms and fixing them both with a “mom-glare.” 

Jonas looked between the two of them, from Reginald smiling sheepishly at the girl, to the girl flicking her glare to the both of them. 

“Uh, well, I’m not really sure? He just kinda dragged me over here,” Jonas muttered weakly, nodding his head towards the boy’s grip on his hand. 

“We were jus’ gonna go look at the Dick Tower,” the other boy answered, “‘s quieter there.”

“The what tower?” Jonas startled, eyes wide in confusion and wondering if it was some kind of euphemism. 

“Ren. Come on, man. You don’t even know who this guy is. He could be some like, serial killer or something. No offense,” she added quickly, not looking the least bit apologetic.

“Whaaaat? Noooo, he’s not a serial killer. I will have you know that I- I have VERY high standards. I wouldn’t pick up some kind of murderer. I have _standards_ , you know. He’s- he’s… Actually, what was your name again?”

“Um, I’m Jonas,” he informed them, “and I’m definitely not a serial killer. Just the occasional klepto, I guess.” He laughed weakly to try and diffuse the glare radiating at him from the blue haired girl’s direction.

“Oh no, Alex, he meets all of my standards!” Ren whipped his gaze around and fixed him with a look of amazement and wonder with his wide brown eyes that weren’t really that focused. “And seeeee? He’s Jonah, and I was gonna show him the Dick Tower so if you’ll ‘scuse us-”

“It’s Jonas, actually-”

“Ren, you still don’t even know anything about him! He doesn’t know anything about you and I’m also pretty sure I don’t even know you,” the girl shot back at him, stepping closer to hopefully guide her poor, inebriated friend home. “Are you the new kid? I’m Alex, by the way.”

“I guess that’s me, sure. How did you know?”

She shrugged casually, looking a little less hostile but not dropping her guard. “News travels fast in Camena. Everyone kind of knows everyone and their business around the town. But anyway, you’re not going anywhere with Ren right now. He’s three sheets to the wind and- Actually, wait. How much have you even had to drink?”

“Um, like six?” he estimated, looking to the sky for answers. “I can see time and space now so I’m guessing probably six.”

“Six what?” Alex pressed, looking less than pleased at the answer.

“Fine by me. You can take him. He just kinda came up to me and started introducing himself,” Jonas cut in, lifting where their hands were joined as if offering it up to Alex. Ren started protesting and tugging their hands back.

“Ren, no,” she scolded him firmly, reaching out for his arm to pull him away from Jonas.

“Ren, yes!” he argued, taking another step up. He now stood almost eye-level with Jonas. “Come on, Alex. You know Jordan now, so can we go already?”

“Dick Tower isn’t even that way,” Alex groaned with a roll of her eyes. At least it made Ren stop in his tracks and look at their surroundings. He looked skeptical about whether or not he should believe his friend, or if he was actually in the right place or not. Ren narrowed his eyes at her.

“You win this round,” he conceded, eyes shifty. He was a bit unsteady as he stood before them, mulling over his defeat, but then he turned to Jonas and his eyes softened. Jonas just waited to see what came next because he really didn’t mind leaving now that the kid had a babysitter to chase after him if he decided to go swimming. “Jacob, I think I must be off. But don’t worry because, because I will maybe, hopefully see you later.” 

“Heh, maybe. If you even remember this,” Jonas chuckled, taking his hand back after having it finally relinquished. “You’ll wake up tomorrow with a killer hangover and-”

Ren teetered unsteadily and leaned forward, stopping Jonas mid sentence with a sloppily placed kiss. It landed mostly on the corner of his mouth but was soon adjusted and placed a little more correctly. Jonas was frozen for a few seconds before pulling away and throwing his hands out to catch the off-balance Ren.

“Yep, time to go,” Alex announced, taking over and nudging Jonas to the side. She steadied Ren and started to guide lead him down the stairs and away from Jonas. “See you at school, new guy,” she called over her shoulder, giving him a friendly, lopsided grin.

Jonas, still a little shocked from Ren’s drunken boldness gave a half hearted wave. Ren turned around and blew a kiss in his general vicinity. 

“See you later, Joshua! Call me!” Up ahead Alex tugged Ren forward a little faster, laughing and telling him to shut up.

So he sort of accomplished his goal of showing up, in that he made a new friend. Even if Ren didn’t remember them meeting in the morning, he was sure Alex would, so the night wasn’t completely pointless. With any luck he’d see them in school on the following Monday and by then Alex would likely have filled her friend in on the events of the party. 

Now that he was alone and away from the partying, Jonas realized a few different things.

First was that he and Ren hadn’t exchanged numbers so he would most certainly not be giving him that call. Second was that his phone had no reception on the island so his dad wouldn’t be able to reach him at all, which would likely result in being grounded for the rest of next week. And finally, since he was here until the first ferry arrived at dawn tomorrow, he had no idea what he was going to do until then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration hits me in short sporadic bursts. 
> 
> I take most suggestions.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU in which Ren gets a new step brother that he accidentally knows a little too well

“What’s this? Someone looks real smug right now. Something good happen last night?” Alex whistled, giving Ren a very knowing look. She was propped against the side of Ren’s bed. She usually let herself in after greeting his mother from the front door. She hadn’t had to knock to announce herself in eight years.

“You’re close. Some _one_ good happened,” Ren said as he sauntered into his own room carrying a new bag of Doritos he’d just popped open from the wrong end. “Went to Ryan’s party last night. You know, the one you didn’t want to go to and be my wingman. Met a guy. We did stuff.” He cocked one of his eyebrows suggestively and Alex couldn’t help but bark an awkward laugh. 

“Well, I’m glad you had a good time. Did you get his name? Or his number?” Her phone pinged and she brought her attention back to the screen, her fingers flying at rapid speed to reply to a text.

“Oh, we had a good time, all right. His hand. My mouth. Didn’t get his name, though. Which is a shame because he was pretty hot from what I can still remember.”

“Uh, TMI, dude. But good for you, I guess? So other than that I didn’t miss much, sounds like.”

“Nah, just the same ol’ same ol’ with different names. Only two guys got slapped by jealous girlfriends this time. And the first person to puke on the couch got stuck on cleaning duty for the rest of the night, so that was kinda funny.”

“Wow, gee, riveting. So I heard you’re getting a new step brother soon,” Alex changed the subject without looking up from her phone. Ren, who was now sat next to her, startled a bit, dropping the Dorito that was midway to his mouth.

“I am? Oh right, I am! Wanna trade?” 

Alex rolled her eyes and gave a short laugh. “I’ll keep Michael, thanks. So you haven’t met him yet?”

Ren scratched the side of his head with the hand not covered in cheese powder, giving her a quizzical sound.

“Nah, something about him not being in school right now or something. I dunno. But him and his dad move in, like, end of this week, I think.”

Ren’s dad had decided about a year ago that he needed to go on a journey of self discovery and left him and his mom alone. Ren didn’t hate him for it, but he kinda wished he could have gone along too. Alex always did say he inherited his dad’s quirkiness.

“I mean, how bad could it be? Right? He could be cool, maybe. What’s his name again?” Alex stopped her texting to peek at Ren’s expression. He really didn’t seem all that broken up about getting new family members, but he didn’t appear very excited about it, either.

“Uhh, it’s Jonah, or something,” he replied absently, squinting at his own phone. “Oops, no wait. It’s Jonas. I just asked my mom if she had a picture of him and his dad. It’s not a great shot of him, but at least he seems like he’d be a pretty cool guy.” He turned his phone to Alex so she could see the photo of Ren’s ash blonde mother, short and a little round in the face, grinning next to a taller, older looking man with dark brown hair flecked with bits of grey. Behind them they could see a dark green jacket and a slouched back of someone else. There wasn’t much else to go by with the poor angle.

“That’s a weird picture, but at least your mom looks happy.” Ren turned the phone back towards himself and tried to zoom in on the picture a bit. His phone pinged shortly after.

“Mom said you can come to dinner on Friday if you wanna meet them.”

“I’m game, sure. I’d like to meet this mysterious new brother of yours and then laugh at how much better Michael is, just to spite you.”

In response Ren threw a small handful of Doritos at her and she pushed him over and onto his side. He wished they could be siblings instead. Then it’d be less weird in theory.

XxX

Friday night rolled around before Ren was ready to accept it, which was very unusual because Friday was pretty much the best day of the whole week. Ren’s mom made him dress a little nicer than his usual polo and skinny jeans. He wore a casual, faded purple button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, along with relaxed fitting black jeans. It was as good as he got as far as cleaning up for something semi-formal. His hair was an untamable mess and was better off left alone. They had tried to gel it back only once and never again thereafter.

Alex was dressed a little nicer than just street clothes, still wearing the jacket Michael gave her the year before. Her jeans weren’t ripped and she wore an actual t-shirt rather than a loose wife beater. They laughed at each other when Alex walked into his room and gave each other not-compliments.

“Oh, I see you broke out the shoes with only two holes on the bottom?”

“Why, yes, I sure did. Only the best to meet your new step brother.” Alex batted her eyes dramatically at Ren. “Could those be-? Nay! Tell me those aren’t _the_ pants that Alisha Higgins threw up on in our freshman year?”

“The very same,” Ren boasted proudly, sticking a leg out and turning it for her to admire the fabric.

“You’ve outdone yourself, truly. So what time do they get here?” Alex pulled her phone out and checked the time. Nearly 6:30 now. Usually her and Michael ate dinner a little later than this because both of their parents found any excuse to stay at work and away from each other as late as possible. 

“I guess any minute now. Mom’s been preparing stuff for like, two hours now. I’m not allowed in the kitchen,” he frowned pathetically, hanging his head in defeat. “She says I’ll throw off her groove, or something.”

“You mean taste-test everything and get in her way?”

“Same thing.” 

“Reginald! Alex! Come on down!” they heard distantly, the both of them turning and giving each other a reassuring look. Ren was a little more nervous than he’d like to admit, so he didn’t say anything.

“Lead the way,” Alex murmured, waiting for Ren to step in front of her and trudge down the stairs. Ren waited for her to walk by his side when they entered the kitchen, stepping into the warm kitchen and taking in the mouth watering smell. Ren could easily just keep his face stuffed full of food to avoid conversation if he wanted to. 

His mother stood by the sink still drying her hands off. The table had been set and everything was ready to go. She looked the tiniest bit nervous, but it was mostly excitement that colored her cheeks a healthy red. 

“Hello, Alex,” she greeted warmly, smiling and flashing her single dimple. “Reginald, best behavior now,” she reminded him. He reassured her lazily that he was always on his best behavior. Quietly, he told Alex that he wasn’t even high this time.

The sharp, clear knock on the front door a room over had them all turning on the balls of their feet. Ren’s mother bustled past them and answered the door, greeting them boisterously and even leaning forward on her tiptoes to greet her husband-to-be with a kiss. 

“Please, come in, come in! Reginald, Alex, I’d like for you to meet my fiancé and your new step brother, Jonas!” 

Ren and Alex stepped forward to meet the incoming guests halfway when Ren choked loudly on his next inhale. Alex, startled, looked at him hacking and gave him a little pat on the back. Ren’s mother looked equally concerned and came to prop him up straight. Alex looked between Ren and his mother, to the new arrivals. 

The older man stood easily at 6 feet tall, he was all broad shoulders compactly built. He wore a black button down with shiny fabric and a light grey vest on top, and his beard was trimmed and well kept. There was a hint of aftershave and cologne that Alex instantly liked. Beside him stood his spitting image, a young man that looked to be about their age and stood half a foot shorter than his father. 

The first thing Alex noted was that he now wore the same heavy green jacket that they had glimpsed in the photo the other day. The more prominent, eye-drawing thing she saw was that he looked equally taken aback, though he hid it much, much better than Ren did. His eyes were wide and the tips of his ears were turning pinker by the second. 

Ren was finally gulping in air as he finished his choking fit. His cheeks were red and he kept his eyes locked on the floor or the wall. Alex chose to talk to him about this later, if they survived the dinner, because there was now a very thick blanket of awkward smothering the atmosphere around the two boys.

“I- uh, I’m Ren, sir, nice t-to meet you,” he fumbled out, voice cracking a bit, but he was doing his best in trying to pretend none of that had just happened. Jonas’s father nodded and seemed to roll with it now that Ren’s mother had stopped fussing over him. 

“Hey there, I’m Alex, Ren’s friend,” Alex chimed in quickly, trying to draw attention away and move on with the meal. She wanted answers and she wanted them soon.

XxX

The end of the meal really couldn’t come soon enough. Between the parental figures trying to get the two boys to speak up more and introduce themselves, and the obvious way the two of them refused to make eye contact for very long, Alex thought she might die of secondhand embarrassment for them. At the very least it became clear that he would make a very nice addition to the family.

It was a small mercy when everything had been finished, leftovers had been packed away, and Ren’s mother had politely declined them helping clean up, they bade Jonas and his father a brief goodbye and other typical pleasantries. As soon as the door shut behind them Ren’s mother requested for Ren to do the dishes. Alex didn’t mind helping out if it meant getting the story out of him in the process.

She waited until they were sure that his mother had retreated to her room to change clothes for the night. She seemed exceptionally happy with how dinner went, and even happier that Ren and Jonas seemed to get along, or at least not hate each other. Meanwhile, Ren stood at the sink, idly scrubbing the surface of a clean plate. Alex sidled up to him and grabbed a dry towel, plucking the clean plate from Ren’s hands.

“Soooooo? What the heck was that about?” When Ren didn’t respond she nudged him gently in the side. “Earth to Ren? Hellooooo?”

“-’s him,” Ren mumbled almost imperceptibly, ducking his head and reaching for another plate piled next to the sink.

“What?”

“That’s him. The… the uh, guy I met the other night.” It only took a moment for Alex to put two and two together.

“The gu- Ohhhhh, you don’t mean _that_ guy? The one that you said you-” 

Ren dropped the dish in his hands, face brighter than a tomato. He finally turned and looked at Alex, his expression one of confusion and horror. 

“Alex,” he hissed, “ _he’s_ the hot guy I met a few nights ago and sucked his dick. He’s my new step brother? Him! Him. _Him?_ ”

Alex couldn’t find anything to say to that. She wanted to reassure him it would be okay, but she didn’t see how any of this could go well. “I mean, you guys didn’t know… It’s not like you would still um, do that with him now that you know.”

“Alex.” Ren’s voice dropped low and serious. “The universe freakin’ hates me and I still think he’s really freaking hot. Is this incest? I think it’s incest and I’m pretty sure I’m going to jail for it.” His voice was half disbelief, half panic.

“Wait, Ren. I don’t think you go to jail for um, doing stuff with your step brother. Also, you’re not blood related so like… it isn’t really incest I guess? But like, I’m not encouraging it or anything either? Guh, this is weird to talk about.” 

Ren gave an obnoxious snort of laughter and splashed some of the dirty dishwater as he brought his hands up to emphasize his point dramatically. “Weird to talk about? This is weird to think about!”

“Right, right, sorry.”

“Alex,” he put his wet, soapy hands on her shoulders, shaking her a little. Never let it be said that Ren did not enjoy his drama class in the 7th grade. “Alex, I still kinda like him? I liked what we did and I already told my brain that I wanted more? Is it like, normal to want to bang your step brother?”

“I mean, I don’t think you’re the first person to do it. Pretty sure everyone thought Mike and Courtney were going to get married back in sophomore year but then they became step siblings? I think it just kinda… happens… Somehow,” Alex finished lamely, peeling Ren’s wet hands off of her. “Look, um, just like, chill out for a second and maybe you can talk to him about it when he moves in. For now, you can’t really do anything about it and if you keep freaking out then your mom will know something is wrong.”

Her words finally seemed to get through his thick skull and at the very least he stopped freaking out on the outside. Knowing Ren he was still internally panicking.

“Okay,” was all he said, his expression blank. 

“Okay?”

“Okay. Yeah, I’m calm, I’m calm.”

“You’re not calm.”

“I’m not calm,” he agreed, nodding in resignation. Neither of them moved, standing in silence in front of the unwashed dishes. Sooner or later Alex was going to have to go home, dishes finished or not.

The text alert from the cellphone Ren had stuffed in his back pocket before dinner surprised them both in the silence of the kitchen. Ren took the towel from Alex’s hands and cleaned off one hand to pull his phone out. He froze when he looked at the notification, turning it to Alex to see when she leaned over his shoulder.

_Unknown number: This is Ren, rite? My dad got your number from your mom. Can we talk?_


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just a casual fwb relationship until it gets complicated

Jonas was sat slouched at the edge of his bed in just his boxers, lighting up a smoke to enjoy after a satisfying romp under the sheets. He was just about to exhale a cloud of smoke when he felt Ren lazily nudge his flank, urging him up and away.

“Ugh, gross. At least do that near the window,” the blond griped from under the blankets, peering over at Jonas with weary, half lidded eyes. Jonas rolled his eyes and stood up slowly, pleased with the faint tingle in his legs from a much needed orgasm. He leaned against the wall and contained his exhaled smoke towards the open window. Outside, the sun was setting, basking the neighborhood in a calming orange glow. Ren would likely be leaving soon before it got too dark, otherwise he might just fall asleep in Jonas’s bed and that would be weird. 

The rustling of sheets drew his attention over to Ren, watching him drag himself into a seated position, blond curls all mussed up every which way. Jonas didn’t mention the outline of his teeth marks that were just starting to swell a little on Ren’s right shoulder, just like he didn’t mention the stinging scratches that crisscrossed his back and shoulder blades.

“Well, thanks for the good time and all that. I’m outtie,” Ren announced, knocking the bed sheets to the floor and standing up, absolutely zero shame for standing around completely naked with someone he wasn’t even in a relationship with.

Jonas gave a nod of acknowledgment, pulling the cigarette away from his lips. “Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out,” he joked. “Alex will be home soon so just don’t be weird about it if you run into her.” They had both agreed that Alex did not need to know what exactly they got up to when they were alone. 

“ _Har har_ , that was one time, you dickhead,” Ren quipped, searching the floor for his discarded clothes and tugging them on casually. His shirt was a little off center and was kind of positioned at a weird angle. It bothered Jonas enough that he snubbed his cigarette on the windowsill and moved to adjust it for Ren. There would be less questions asked if it didn’t look like they had just stripped each other of all their clothes and fooled around. 

“You comin’ over tomorrow?” Jonas asked when he finished adjusting Ren’s clothes for him. 

“Uhh, what’s tomorrow? No wait, I can’t. I’m busy,” Ren replied, looking for his left sock.

Jonas scoffed and rolled his eyes a little. “Busy? _You?_ With what?”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I’ve got a date tomorrow,” Ren stated proudly, finally presentable enough to head out.

Something clicked out of place in Jonas’s head at the word date. Had he heard that right? Ren, going on a date? It had been a while since Ren got dumped by his last on-again, off-again girlfriend and they had started up their friends-with-benefits thing. Jonas had admittedly gotten quite comfortable in an easy, no strings attached kind of deal between the two of them. Ren was hot and a pretty good lay, usually breaking up the monotony of the week and releasing some of his pent up tension.

But it’s not like they were like, an actual thing together, and both of them were free to pursue someone else if they so chose. Jonas just couldn’t place why he felt a tiny itch of discomfort in the back of his brain.

“A date? Really? With who?” he pressed, not liking the way his heart sunk a little at the idea of Ren leaving their easy agreement. 

“Uhh, do you know Jackie B from a grade below us? Cute freckles, brown hair, uhh, a little taller than me?” 

Jonas racked his brain for anything but couldn’t think of anyone. When he didn’t say anything Ren continued.

“Yeah so I asked her out a while ago and guess what she said?” he beamed proudly.

“She said yes I assume?”

“Haha, no. She said no. So I asked her a few more times after I started trying to get to know her and then she finally said yes.”

“That… that sounds a little creepy when you put it that way,” Jonas said, feeling both a little sorry for the girl and a little envious that this girl was taking Ren away from him. 

“Oh, uh, actually yeah, it kinda does now that I think about it.” Ren's face blossomed into realization. “But uh, yeah, I think that _this_ kinda stops now.” He gestured to the two of them with a slightly solemn look on his face. Jonas could feel himself nod stiffly, shifting his weight to his right leg in the awkward silence that fell between them. 

Downstairs they heard a door shut, making the two of them jolt. Ren ran his hands through his hair to make it fall the way it normally did. 

“How do I look?” he asked quickly, holding out his arms and watching Jonas expectantly.  
Jonas kinda wanted to tell him that he thought Ren was cute and that girl Jackie would be lucky to have him. He snubbed that thought before he thought too long on it and just gave Ren a quick once over to make sure nothing was out of place. 

“Looks good. I mean, fine. Yeah, right. So um, good luck on your date tomorrow, I guess,” Jonas muttered to Ren on his way out. Ren beamed at him in his happy-go-lucky way and quickly vanished from sight. Jonas shut his bedroom door to keep the smell of sex from leaking out. 

Distantly, he heard Ren greeting Alex enthusiastically, saying that he had come over looking for her but was just on his way out. Well, it’s not like they wouldn’t be seeing each other ever again. It just wouldn’t be in the same spot at the usual time. 

\----------------------

For the following week Jonas didn’t make much of an effort to see Ren and his new date around school. Before, Jonas would occasionally drop by and find Ren at his lockers, sometimes just to listen to his aimless chatter, and sometimes to make plans about meeting up later for a quick fuck, but now he wasn’t in the mood to see Ren with some pretty brunette girl making dumb faces at each other. He didn’t think he’d be this bothered about losing his friend with benefits status.

Lunch was also pretty easy to stay out of sight. Jonas had his not-so-secret smoking spot that he could disappear out of a back door to whenever lunchtime rolled around. Alex usually sat between the two of them during lunch, but chances were good that Ren was bringing his new object of affection around. Really the hardest place to avoid him would have been when Ren was visiting Alex to hang out, but that had slowed down in frequency since Ren’s attention was currently divided and refocused.

It was the Monday after the first full week of avoiding Ren that Alex found Jonas in his spot outside. He was skipping lunch all together to have a long, thoughtful smoke break to contemplate what exactly it was that he missed about having Ren around. He wasn’t dying from the sudden lack of regular sex and his right hand could take care of that just fine. It’s not like Ren was his only friend that he could talk to if he needed someone to chat with, and they never really had anything especially interesting to chat about. He was lost in thought when his step sister stepped into his field of vision.

“Hellooo? Earth to Jonas? What’s been going on, man?” she asked, waving a hand in front of his face and snapping him out of his reverie. 

“Huh?” He thought that was eloquent enough to express his current mental availability.

“Hey man, you doing okay?” Alex asked, turning her nose at the scent of his cigarettes. 

He stomped his unfinished cigarette into the ground. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. What’s up?”

His step sister pulled a face at him, indicating her doubt and the disbelief that Jonas thought he could pull one over on her. She didn’t need to say anything else to prompt Jonas to spill the beans.

“Look, I dunno. It’s not a big deal anyway. It’s like, um,” he fumbled for words, trying to piece together what he wanted to say. Problem was, he didn’t even know what he wanted to say. He decided to skip straight to the point. “Have you met Ren’s new, ah, interest?”

Alex’s eyebrows furrowed in thought. “Oh, do you mean Julie or Jassedy or whatever her name was?”

“Pretty sure it’s neither of those names, but yes, it’s err, really complicated?” How did one go about telling his step sibling that he had been casually banging her childhood friend for several months.

“I just wasn’t in the mood to see Ren falling all over himself like an idiot, like how he did with Nona? Yeah, that shit was annoying.” He threw a scoff in for good measure.

Alex had her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, expressing her skepticism louder than any words ever could. Jonas held her steady gaze as long as he could before he ended up getting unnerved. He supposed it was now or never, right?

“So, uh… I mean, it’s gonna sound really stupid, but ah, Ren and I may have been like, doing stuff?” The words were hard to find and even harder to voice. He felt his cheeks flushing red so he kept his gaze to the side. 

“Define stuff?” 

Jonas was screaming internally. He thought his head might implode if he had to go into much more elaborate details.

“Like, you know? Just messing around and whatever. It was just a casual thing,” he mumbled out, curiosity getting the best of his embarrassment and peeking at Alex to see what expression she held.

He was floored to see it was an all-knowing smirk. Jonas had to do a double take.

“Alex, what’s that face for?” he sputtered, growing more and more nervous when her smirk widened. “Don’t tell me you- you already knew? How?” 

She burst into laughter, but it wasn’t cruel. She sounded more like he had just learned how many frogs she snuck home this time. 

“You guys aren’t as discrete as you think.” She left it at that. Jonas didn’t want to know more, but he was kind of relieved their secret was out and that Alex seemed chill with it. It sure saved him the effort of explaining himself. 

“Right. Yeah, so I mean, I still wasn’t in the mood to see Ren fawning over this girl and, I dunno, I guess I’m a little peeved that uh, he’s not available anymore.” 

“Ohhh, jealousy struck hard I see.”

“Wh-what? I’m not jealous! Ren can date who he wants. We weren’t like, dating or anything! And I didn’t say I miss him, just that he’s not conveniently around twice a week or more to screw.”

Alex just rolled her eyes, looking equally smug and playfully exasperated. “You’re both dumb. Just a friendly reminder as your sister.” 

“What? Why?”

“Lunch is over. Figure it out for yourselves,” Alex replied, turning around to leave Jonas baffled and confused. “Here’s a hint: figure it out together!” She waved over her shoulder without looking back, leaving Jonas to brood over his frustration for a moment before hurrying in after her. 

\-----------------------

Jonas was just going over his plan to hopefully never see Ren again, simply out of spite, when he ran straight into him. Literally ran right into him and nearly bowled him over. He was startled from his thoughts and then immediately began to internally panic when he realized he was face to face with his former fuck buddy.

Ren looked equally startled, but probably for different reasons. He smiled a little sheepishly at Jonas’s own awkwardness.

“Uh, yo! What’s up? Haven’t seen you in a bit!” he greeted enthusiastically, voice wavering with confusion. Jonas tried to subtly look around, wondering where what’s-her-name was.

“Hey, yeah. Um, what’s up?” he asked pathetically, fighting the instinct to bail. What was wrong with him now that he was confronted with Ren? It’s not like the dude was getting married and moving away. Not that Jonas cared if he did. “Where’s uh… Jamie?”

“Do you mean Jackie?”

“Right, her. Aren’t you supposed to be attached at the hip or something?”

Ren rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. “Well, that would have been ideal and whatever, but our first date didn’t really hit it off. She was super cute, don’t get me wrong! She was also super interested in my band, and that was nice too. But I dunno, there was something missing?”

“Missing? Like what?” Jonas asked, trying and failing to avoid acknowledging that he was very, very interested in knowing more. 

“Beats me. Like, I guess I feel more like I’m performing for her? Like I need to impress her to keep her attention? But anyway, I kinda realized something else I was looking for in a person, I think.”

“And we all know how good you are at doing anything like that.” Jonas rolled his eyes good humoredly. “Should’a tried talking her head off, like you do to the rest of us.” So maybe he kinda missed this easy going friendship with Ren. Dude was just lucky Jonas wasn’t very good with making new friends. He felt bad that he was satisfied about Ren’s date not working out. He hoped it didn’t show on his face. 

The blond elbowed him playfully, barely moving Jonas an inch. “Mean. Some people like the sound of my voice, I’ll have you know. I’m basically the lead of my band!”

“You’re the bassist of the band. Nice try.”

The two settled into a casual laugh, only for the awkward silence to draw up around them. Jonas shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to know what his racing heart might have meant. He supposed he could abandon that plan now to avoid Ren for the rest of his life. 

“So-”

“Do yo-”

They stopped in unison, sharing another round of nervous laughter. Jonas gestured for Ren to go first because he never had any problem expressing himself. Jonas would likely just cop out.

“I was just kinda wondering… if you might want to uh… try going on a date later?”

Jonas stared at Ren hard, unblinkingly. 

Had he heard that right? 

Was this a dream?

“You… you wanna go on a date?” he asked, excitement and curiosity building and rolling around in his stomach. 

“Well, I mean-! If you want to? You don’t have to!”

Something was making his heart flutter and he hoped it was some kind of deadly heart condition that would kill him if he found out this was a dream or a hallucination. 

“I do! Want to, that is. I mean, I would like to go on a date with you later,” Jonas fumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up. Surprise flickered across his face before Ren beamed at him, all awkwardness gone from between them. Jonas never really noticed until now, but when Ren smiled it made his insides flutter pleasantly. Had it always done that? Ren had always been good looking to him, he couldn’t deny that, but now it was like everything about him lit up. 

God help him if this was a dream. He wondered if this is what Alex wanted him to figure out. The answer was almost definitely yes.

“Then it’s a date!” And heck, if it worked out then Alex wouldn’t be surprised at all. 

Speaking of her, though… they were both probably in for some good old fashioned teasing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a nightmare.

What started off as a pretty normal dream slowly began to transition into some kind of nightmare. At first, Jonas thought he was back at the old campsite his family used to visit, walking alongside the river that he once lost a baseball cap in. He used to skip rocks into the water, but only his mom was really good at it. His always sank after two or three jumps. 

He moved to the edge of the river to look at the water’s surface, only to freeze in his spot when, instead of a litter-filled stream, he was met with a black abyss. He ripped his gaze away before something could look back, only to find that the old campsite had melted away, and in its place was a thickening fog. He wanted to call out for his parents. For someone. He thinks he may have said something, but he couldn’t be sure since silence was the only thing that answered back.

Despite the heavy blanket of fog that had rolled over the ground, Jonas felt a piercing chill run down his spine. It was impossible to see even two feet in front of him no matter where he looked, and yet he could feel the weight of an unrelenting gaze pinning him to the spot. 

He needed to move! Even if he couldn’t see where he was going, he wanted to run. He urged his damn legs to do something, but it seemed as though the very earth had opened up and swallowed his feet, immobilizing him. His arms, his head, his mouth. All frozen in place. He was trapped here in this sort of hellish limbo.

In the distance, something glinted and caught his eye. A searchlight? His hope rose just a little bit. He needed something to latch onto before the panic swallowed him whole. 

A twin pair of red lights stared him down. Eyes. No body. No face. Just the eyes that were surely prying into his very being, devouring his fear, rummaging through his brain and--

Jonas awoke to wide brown eyes staring into the very depths of his soul. Someone’s hot breath washed over his too warm face. A bead of sweat slid down his neck as Jonas blinked back the fading image of glowing red eyes amidst the white bed of fog. Instead, he focused on the sight before him.

Curly blond hair, soulful brown eyes. The soft smell of an organic cologne. Suddenly everything was a lot safer. 

Ren.

Jonas tried to take a deep breath and found it hard to pull in. He realized it was Ren’s weight sitting on his chest that immobilized him to the bed. Jonas groaned and shoved at him the best he could. “Ugh, heavy.”

“And he’s awake!” Ren announced dramatically. “Sleeping Beauty awakes after the kiss of his handsome Prince Charming!”

“Too loud. Too heavy. Get off,” Jonas grunted at him, still recovering from his nightmare. He was happy to see Ren though. The dream was fading faster with Ren as a noisy distraction. Ren shifted his weight then, leaning back on his heels and hovering over Jonas’s midsection instead.

“Good morning, by the way! Or I guess it’s afternoon now. But I made you breakfast anyway. Or maybe it’s actually brunch?”

Jonas wriggled free with Ren’s weight off of him. He managed to sit up, facing his excitable boyfriend and wiping sweat off the back of his neck. His sleep shirt had bunched up in his apparent struggle while he slept, and he adjusted it to fit more comfortably.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but how did you even get in my house?”

“Most people say thanks, but you know, that’s cool too.”

He looked at the clock at his bedside. Nearly two in the afternoon. He had really slept in today. He pushed a hand through his hair. He would need a cigarette soon.

“You’re out of milk, by the way,” Ren’s voice cut through his thoughts. Alex must have let him in before she went to her job.

“Uh, right. Thanks. How many plates did you break this time?” Jonas asked with a resigned but grateful huff. 

“I only put a tiny crack in one of the glasses, thank you very much,” Ren replied, giving a carefree, lopsided grin and reminding Jonas what he liked best about his boyfriend. 

Jonas leaned forward, the memory of his nightmare had all but gone now. It was just a bad dream that meant nothing now. He placed a chaste kiss on Ren’s chapped lips, smiling into it and pulling back. He patted him on the thigh, asking for him to get up and move. Ren acquiesced only after he returned the greeting kiss and Jonas didn’t even pretend to make a big deal out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just a short thing that I hope someone likes. I felt bad for not writing anything in forever.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rare trip to the library leads to an interesting discovery about Jonas.

Ren finds Jonas in the last place he expected him. Actually, it’s also the last place he himself would willingly go. 

Ren’s scrolling through his text messages and trying to match Jonas’s location description with the inside of their community college’s library. Ren is remembering why he doesn’t ever come in here - it’s a damn maze! And as someone that always has a severe case of chatterbox, the silence is super awkward. It’s the week before finals and the place is already jam packed.

Ren’s pretty sure the library isn’t actually that big, but it’s bigger than the high school one had been, and he had only gone in there a grand total of twice in his high school career. 

He wished he could just make this easier for himself and call out for wherever Jonas was, but that was a surefire way to get booted out of the library, and then he’d never get those lab notes from Jonas until tonight.

If Ren we’re willing to bore himself in such a quiet, studious space, he’d try to meet people here. But the wait time between actually finding people and chatting them up was guaranteed to be boring and awkward. Key problem being, some people just didn’t know when to leave the books alone and spent hours sat in one spot. That would definitely make for awkward picking up if Ren flirted with more than a few people and he just didn’t work well under that kind of judgment.  
Maybe he was going the wrong way? 

Looking in the wrong places? Jonas should have just sent a picture of his general location. Maybe Jonas should have given better directions. Or even better, not have gone to a library of all places.

Ren spun around, nearly colliding with a girl walking by with a stack of books. Feeling nervous with his aimless shuffling around, he continued further into the modestly sized labyrinth of books to look for the tables “alongside the biography books.” Well, maybe he should have asked where those were, to begin with.

He made it to the south corner of the room and turned back around once more. Hopefully he’d never be coming back here again. What if he starved to death getting lost in here? What if he never found the exit again? No one would know where he was because he literally never came here ever. He would die without ever being found. All because stupid Jonas had to pick the library to study in. All because Jonas decided to study.

Ren soon found himself back to where the majority of tables were placed. He’d just have to suck it up and ask for directions, he supposed. He ended up tapping the nearest girl on the shoulder and was pointed towards the far west corner. He picked up the pace because he was ready to leave with his notes and never come back.

The west corner was just as crowded as the main hub of the library. It took a few sweeps of his gaze to find the familiar green jacket and dark red beanie slouched over a pile of papers. Ren approached him with a light skip in his step. His journey was nearly over!

“Man, finally!” Ren forgot to use his inside voice. “Do you know how hard it is to navi-” Ren did a double take, freezing mid-step and nearly stumbling. 

Jonas looked up, brow furrowed and still partially lost in thought. Since when did Jonas wear glasses?

Glasses were such a normal accessory. On anyone else he wouldn’t have thought twice. But Jonas. Jonas never wore glasses. Ren didn’t even know he owned them. It really made this whole “study hard” attitude of his very convincing. They were square, black frames had a modestly thick bridge that sat loosely at the edge of his nose. The smart looking frames suited his sharp jawlines and angled face well, and the best part was that it made him think of something a spy might wear.

Ren didn’t realize his jaw had dropped and that he had never finished his sentence. Jonas was looking at him curiously now, squinting back at him in confusion. Ren’s eyes flicked down to Jonas’s chapped lips, the bottom lip red from chewing at it in frustration.

“You okay, man?”

“I uh-” Those glasses really looked sharp on him. It complimented his handsome face very well. Ren suddenly couldn’t take his mind off of how very captivating someone as rough as Jonas could look with a simple pair of specs. His brain supplied that Jonas was very solidly built, tall and sturdy with a broad torso and long legs, and yet when he wore those glasses it made him look softer, gentle even. Like he was some kind of musician hipster that worked out on the side.

Where did he come up with these very specific mental images of people-types? 

“Ren?”

“Um, since when do you wear glasses?”

Jonas blinked in surprise. Evidently it was not what he was expecting to hear.

“Oh. Does it look stupid?”

“No, no! Not at all!” Definitely far from it. It felt like his brain had short circuited. Glasses had never been something he was particularly aware of. “I’m just really surprised to see you wearing them. Never seen it before.”

Jonas smiled a bit sheepishly. He pushed his glasses up a little higher and Ren watched the motion very, very closely. They just made him look so classy. The black frames brought out his dark eyes.

“So yeah, I was uh, here for those notes,” Ren’s brain supplied for his mouth. “But uh, could I sit with you and maybe read over them? And maybe ask for clarification and stuff?” Had he really just asked to stay? In the library? To study?

“You’re free to stay, yeah. I haven’t gone over the lab notes yet so it’ll help me out, too.” 

Well. That settled it. Ren really wanted to spend more time watching Jonas with his glasses and if he had to stay in the library to do it, then maybe he might have to try coming here more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been watching Kingsman again and I'm keen on how their glasses make them look so gentle and classy.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Displays of jealousy from each of the boys in their own way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just a quick piece I wanted to do because I missed them.

He was pretty sure her name was Elizabeth or something. Elise? Eliza? She was a cute blonde girl with wavy hair that spilled down her back. Her face was heart shaped and pleasantly pink at all times and during all seasons. Ren suspected too much blush done well, somehow. 

Well, whatever it was, she was standing too close to Jonas, looking too interested in Ren’s boyfriend. 

It was just before the lunch bell rang and Ren was coming to find Jonas before he took his secret smoke break. Ren hated when Jonas came back stinking like smoke, but Jonas complained when he smelled like magic brownies so fair was fair. 

Elsa or whoever she was, was leaning against the lockers while Jonas was shoving his books onto the top shelf. She was laughing and smiling and Jonas was seemingly smiling back at her between jamming papers and notebooks aside. To the untrained eye, one might think he was flirting back, but Jonas was always a little awkward around people he didn’t know all that well, and Ren could see his stiffened shoulders and lopsided grin that didn’t quite meet his eyes.

Ren knew he had nothing to worry about, really he did. But that didn’t stop a zing of jealousy from tickling through the back of his head and making him suspicious of Eliana’s motives. Jonas was too pure and too naive for such wiles. 

Before he could stop himself he found his feet moving towards the two, clomping loudly and boisterously. He was pretty sure the other side of the world could hear him coming, with how loud he made his entrance. The girl looked startled and her pink cheeks were even pinker. Jonas just raised one eyebrow at him and watched him approach. 

“Jonas! Buddy! Hey, my dude!” Ren announced, reaching up and throwing an arm around Jonas’ shoulder. He leaned his weight into Jonas’ side comfortably, feeling the jealousy inside him purr with success. 

“Uh, hey, Ren,” Jonas greeted, his own weight shifting just a smidge back against Ren’s. It was imperceptible to the naked eye. “What’s up?”

“Hm? Nothing much! Just swingin’ on by to make sure you were making your way to the lunch table. Oh, who’s this?” Ren took notice of the girl before them, noting her own confusion at the rapid change in situation. “Aren’t you in my math class?”

“This is Ellen. She’s actually in _my_ math class. She was just asking me for the notes from today.”

Ellen laughed sheepishly. “I fell asleep during class and missed part of the notes.” 

“Ohhhhh, yeah, I get you. I do that all the time!” Ren laughed, still suspicious of her motives towards Jonas. Simple, naive Jonas. Good thing Ren was here to protect his virtue for… himself. “Well, you’d better get a move on getting them. Lunch bell’s gonna ring and Jonas and I have places to be.” 

Jonas didn’t say anything to contradict him or agree with him. He just kinda rolled with it, reaching back through his locker and pulling away from Ren to search for those notes. Ellen took them and gave them a thankful smile before excusing herself for lunch.

Once she was gone and Ren was still following beside Jonas, Jonas looked over at Ren with a half cocked glance and a sudden, knowing smile on his face.

“So what was all that for?” he asked anyway, nudging Ren in the side when Ren played dumb.

“Hey, she was moving in on my territory. You’re lucky I didn’t like, loudly declare my claim on you,” Ren replied, mostly joking. “So now I’m gonna sit out with you on your smoke break and make sure no one else makes a move on you. And you’re gonna blow your smoke the other way so I don’t have to breathe it in too.”

“You really don’t need to be out here if you don’t want to be.” 

“Nonsense. It’s all for you, babe. Now hurry up so we can go eat.” 

\----------------------------------------

Ren had the sort of personality that, no matter who he was talking with, whether it be someone a grade below them or some nice, elderly lady down the road, he always sounded like he was flirting. He just had a playful personality and oddly flirtatious body language. It was part of his charm that Jonas also enjoyed about him, but that meant other people got the same message that he got, and Jonas didn’t always like that. 

They were people-watching at the local mall, one of Ren’s favorite pastimes. They just strolled around the mall a few times, sometimes dipping into stores that were remotely interesting, looking at people and sometimes they would make up stories about their lives, give them conflicts and relationship problems. They usually didn’t do much buying, just casual window shopping. Jonas didn’t mind it because it filled his social quota for the week. 

Ren had wanted to drop by a movie and electronics store for things he didn’t need, so Jonas perused the used DVDs and Ren wandered the music aisles. Jonas especially didn’t need anything, but he liked looking at all the titles and getting an idea of what he might want to watch next. Ren would more than likely leave the store holding at minimum 3 new CDs, again, things he didn’t need since music was perfectly downloadable online. 

Jonas had looked over everything that caught his eye and made a mental list of things to torrent later, when he left the movie aisle and went to find Ren. What he expected to see was Ren holding a dozen or so CD cases and looking for more (of which Jonas would talk him out of a few at the counter) but instead found him holding a mere 4 or 5 and chatting with some employee. 

The employee, to his credit, appeared to be helping Ren and doing his job by pointing out CDs or recommending bands. However, he also appeared to be totally enthralled by Ren’s very animated form of talking, and wasn’t even looking at merchandise. One could easily assume it was just two music loving souls sharing a moment, but the young man was gazing at Ren with an admiration and interest that Jonas often wore when speaking with Ren.

Jonas approached the two slowly, trying to appear casual and not rush over like he was tempted to do. Ren used his hands and arms when he spoke about things he was passionate about. His face lit up and his mouth always did this flirtatious quirky grin that he never seemed to be aware of. Other Guy was a bit older than the two of them, his posture casual but held to attention in interest. His jawbone was slight and delicate, and his eyes had the tiniest hint of an angle to them. He was definitely cute if Jonas were into guys older than him. His gaze never left Ren’s exuberant grin. Not that Jonas could hardly blame him. Ren was a cute, quirky guy, and anyone with eyes could see that. 

“So I’m totally in this band, and like, we’re hoping to win it big and someday sell our own jams to places like this!” Ren was boasting proudly. “I always thank my mom for those bass lessons I took in middle school even though she always thinks this is a passing hobby. But someday she’ll see.” 

“And I hope we get to sell your stuff someday. And maybe you can come in for like, signings and stuff,” the young man replied, leaning a little closer towards Ren. Jonas felt himself fuming on the inside. 

“Yeah! And I’ll autograph your face and whatever. That’s what famous people like to do, I think.” The man looked oddly pleased at the thought. 

“You think I could come and see you practice some time?” the employee asked slyly, clearly other intentions on the brain as well.

“Dude man, that’d be awesome! I’d love for you to-”

And that was when Jonas decided to step in and put a stop to the young man flirting with his obliviously charmed boyfriend. 

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat, sidling up to Ren’s side. “If you’re done picking stuff up, let’s go get something to eat?” Jonas pretended not to notice the look of mild exasperation on the employee’s face, pleased with himself that he single handedly redirected Ren’s line of attention. 

“Sure, sure. I was just telling Robin here about my band. Lemme just checkout and we’ll go. Oh, and hey! I got something for Alex, too.” 

Jonas gave Ren his own look of admiration, peeking from his peripheral to note that Other Guy totally saw it and got the hint. He felt way too much satisfaction from the look of envy that crossed Robin’s face and was forced to suppress his own smug look. 

Ren led the way to the cash register and Other Guy quickly strode past the two of them to take his place behind the counter. He rang Ren up as Ren chattered about his band again, though this time Robin didn’t seem to be as into it as he was before. Instead he was eying Jonas suspiciously.

If Jonas were a lesser, pettier man, he’d make sure the intrusive employee knew where he stood as far as the two of them were concerned. But it just wasn’t in him to reach out and place a possessive arm around Ren’s shoulders, or take his hand in his. Instead, he just enjoyed the looks he got. He didn’t need to do anything now. 

Jonas felt eyes on the back of his head when the two of them left the store, bag of goodies in Ren’s hands and the employee quickly forgotten. Jonas made a note to come back to that store next time Robin was working, only so he could show that he’d always be around with Ren.

**Author's Note:**

> If I'm not playing the game I'm usually listening to it on youtube. The voice acting is what sucked me in. Mostly Jonas. 
> 
> I just needed more Jonas/Ren in my life. Requests welcomed.


End file.
